White House Defends Position on North Korea
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's check in now with the White House. President Bush's spokesperson talking today about the war on terrorism and Iraq. CNN's John King standing by with more from there -- hi, John.</s>JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra. A new Osama bin Laden tape, an escalating U.S. military buildup. Many believe war in Iraq is inevitable. Also this new report about North Korea. The president down in the next hour talking about the troubled U.S. economy. Quite a bit on the president's plate, those issues dominating the White House briefing today, and many asking, as the CIA director and other intelligence officials on Capitol Hill today saying North Korea may have a missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the West Coast of the United States, so repeated questions at the briefing, why is it that the president views Saddam Hussein and Iraq as more of an imminent threat to the United States than North Korea? Ari Fleischer saying the president views both countries as a threat. He just thinks that in the case of Iraq it is more of a pressing matter right now. Ari Fleischer explaining how the president has a different response to both threats to the United States.</s>ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They are both important priorities. The question is, what are the means best used to deal with each priority? In the case of Iraq, the president has come to the judgment that, as a result of 12 years of working through diplomacy, the time for diplomacy is going to run out. That if diplomacy had worked, if sanctions had worked, if limited military action had worked, they would have worked a long time ago. They are not working with Iraq, and so therefore, the president has put the military option on the front and on the center of the table. That's not case with North Korea.</s>KING: And so you have in these two crises the administration pushing for swift Security Council action, moving toward military confrontation with Iraq. The administration noncommittal, in the sense of North Korea right now. Up to this point, the administration has said this is not the time to discuss any sanctions, believing that could back North Korea into a corner. The administration will have to decide over the next several days whether it is time to change position, or to urge the Security Council simply to condemn North Korea, put sanctions off for now, and try to reach a diplomatic resolution -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: John, the president also talking about the economy, a closed door session at Charles Schwab. What's that about today?</s>KING: Well, the president will meet in a closed door session with small investors, then he will deliver remarks in public. The president trying to sell his plan, his big tax cut plan, as a way to help revive the U.S. economy. He is making this speech at a time the White House concedes the uncertainty over the prospect of war with Iraq is dampening, causing uncertainty not only in the U.S., but in global financial markets. The president also making his public remarks on the economy today, a day after the fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, convinced some in Congress that he does not believe the Bush tax cut is the right answer right now. So another tough sales prospect for the president.</s>PHILLIPS: John King live at the White House. Thanks, John. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com