US Department of State, Daily Press Briefing, by Robert Wood, Acting Department Spokesman
April 14, 2009, Washington DCNorth Korea dominated the questions, wish a steadfast determination to get specifics on a US response to North Korea's rebuff of UN Security Council and IAEA:
PRESS | QUESTION: What is your response to their announcements?
MR. WOOD: Well, Matt, let me just say I know you all have a lot of questions about North Korea. I don’t have very much at all today that I’m going to give you. And I know you’re going to come at me with a lot of questions from various angles, but I just want to basically refer you back to the UN Security Council presidential statement that was issued. And this presidential statement made very clear the position of the UN Security Council plus Japan. And as you know, the statement calls for an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks, a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and full implementation of the joint statement of 2005. I don’t have much more for you right now. At some later point, we’ll have more to say, but right now, that’s all I have.
QUESTION: In other words, you have no response?
MR. WOOD: As I said, I’ve given you right now what I have for you.
QUESTION: Well, that’s great. But, Robert, but that’s from--that’s from yesterday.
MR. WOOD: Yeah.
QUESTION: Well, things have happened on the ground today.
MR. WOOD: Oh, I understand.
QUESTION: Presumably, the United States is aware of them.
MR. WOOD: Look, we’re certainly aware of what’s going on. But what I’m saying is the statement that was issued by the Security Council in Japan spoke for the international community. It was very clear what our position is with regard to the type of behavior the North has been engaged in. There’s really nothing more to add to it.
QUESTION: The North today has said that it’s going to restart its - - Yongbyon, that it’s going to pull out of the Six-Party Talks, and there are reports that they’ve expelled the U.S. and IAEA inspectors. You’re telling me that the United States Government does not have any kind of response or reaction to that?
MR. WOOD: I’m saying--right now, this is what our response is. And this is not just the U.S. response, this is the international community’s response to what the North has been doing.
QUESTION: I’m, sorry. That --
QUESTION: That happened before North Korea did all this. I mean, you gave your response, which is your statement, and then North Korea reacted by doing all this. And I mean, what practical consequences can you impose on North Korea for its bad behavior when you put out the statement that, even though you said it’s legally binding, many members don’t feel that it’s legally binding? And North Korea continues to flaunt the will of the international community.
MR. WOOD: Well, look, we’ve seen a lot of what the North has done before, Elise. I don’t have anything new I can give you right now beyond what I’ve said. At, you know, later points, we will have more to say about it. But I think we spoke very clearly--we meaning the United States and others on the Council, the broader international community--about what we want to see the North do. There really isn’t anything to add to it at this point.