Interview With U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Susan Rice; North Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack
BLITZER: North Korea now threatening a nuclear attack and accusing the United States of lighting the fuse for war.</s>BOLDUAN: Defiant words as the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tougher sanctions against the communist nation today. Even North Korea's key ally China was on board. CNN's Anna Coren in Seoul, South Korea, has more on the sanctions and the threats.</s>ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're used to fiery rhetoric out of North Korea, but nothing quite like this. Facing tough U.N. sanctions, Pyongyang for the first time is threatening to launch a preemptive nuclear strike on the United States and South Korea. It comes just days after the belligerent state said it would scrap the 1953 armistice agreement that effectively ended the Korean War.</s>CHUNG-IN MOON, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: There have to be some kinds of new thinking on how to deal with North Korea. Otherwise, you cannot get out of this vicious circle of crime and punishment and crime and punishment.</s>SNOW: North Korean expert Professor Chung-in Moon believes the U.N. sanctions, some of the toughest it's ever imposed, will do nothing to deter North Korea's determination to become a nuclear state. The only time sanctions worked was back in 2003, when Pyongyang agreed to enter into six-party talks. But after four years and only six rounds of meetings, North Korea walked out, and there has been no further dialogue to this day.</s>BOLDUAN: That was CNN's Anna Coren. Joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea will get under way next week, and that's when North Korea claims it will walk away from the armistice.</s>BLITZER: And Ambassador Susan Rice is joining us from the United Nations right now. Ambassador, thanks very much for coming.</s>SUSAN RICE, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Good to be with you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: What do you make of North Korea's threat now to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against South Korea and the United States if these latest U.N. sanctions just approved go into effect?</s>RICE: Well, they will go into effect, Wolf, because today, we unanimously passed another round of very strong sanctions against North Korea because of its February 12th nuclear test. And these sanctions will make it very much more difficult for North Korea to finance and procure materials for and technology for its nuclear ballistic missile programs. We have heard these sorts of threats from North Korea before. And, frankly, they are not going to achieve anything. The better course for North Korea would be to recognize that it is isolated internationally, the entire international community is united in its opposition to the nuclear program and behind these sanctions, and North Korea ought to, instead, heed President Obama's call to return to the path of peace and to uphold its international obligations. But the past record suggests that we may see more provocation.</s>BLITZER: Well, provocation is one thing, but do they actually have a capability of striking the United States right now?</s>RICE: Well, Wolf, I'm not going to get into sensitive discussion of their technical capabilities, but the United States has the ability to defend itself against any North Korean ballistic missile attack. I think North Korea really ought to think carefully about continued threats and provocations, refrain from those, and recognize that the path it's on is leading to the impoverishment, the greater impoverishment of its people and the isolation of its leadership. Even China, Wolf, has had a belly full of North Korea and is more frustrated than I've seen it in many years.</s>BLITZER: Because the Chinese decision to co-sponsor this resolution, that's a huge deal, given the fact that China is the main sponsor, if you will, the main supporter of the North Korean regime.</s>RICE: Well, China and the United States negotiated this resolution intensively over the last few weeks. And it contains some very strong provisions that previously China had been reluctant to contemplate. And now, given the latest in the series of provocations, and the fact that North Korea is pursuing a course of action that threatens China's interests -- its economic interests, its interests in regional peace and stability, as well as that of the larger international community -- they, too, agreed it was time for much tougher action.</s>BLITZER: As you know, there are nearly 30,000 U.S. troops along the demilitarized zone in South Korea, facing potentially a million North Korean troops on the other side, with heavy artillery. Are they going on a higher state of alert as a result of these threats coming from North Korea right now?</s>RICE: Well, I can't comment on the alert status of our forces, but I can tell you that we are always vigilant and prepared for the sort of threats that we've heard from North Korea in recent days. We'll be in the process of an annual military exercise with South Korea, which is something that we do regularly, and that, obviously, also is the reason for our particular vigilance about what may be going on in the north.</s>BLITZER: In recent days, Dennis Rodman, the NBA star, he visited North Korea and he actually spent two days with Kim Jong-un, as far as we know, the first American to actually meet the new young Korean leader. And he came back, and he told George Stephanopoulos this.</s>DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: One thing he asked me, give Obama something to say and do one thing. He want Obama to do one thing. Call him.</s>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: He wants a call from President Obama?</s>RODMAN: That's right. He told me that. He said, "If you can, Dennis, I don't want to do war. I don't want to do war." He said that to me.</s>BLITZER: As you remember, going back to the campaign in 2007/2008, you were a key adviser to the then-candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. He left open the possibility, he said he's ready to talk without preconditions, with any of these leaders around the world, including these totalitarian regimes. Do you think that this Dennis Rodman proposal is something the president should pick -- pick up on and call Kim Jong-un?</s>RICE: Wolf, I don't see President Obama picking up the phone and calling Kim Jong-un anytime. But the United States has been and remains open to a negotiated settlement, open to the resumption of the six-party talks, which the resolution today reaffirmed, which is, our preferred means of ensuring that the Korean Peninsula is, in fact, de- nuclearized.</s>BLITZER: On Syria, while I have you. A year or so ago, you were here in THE SITUATION ROOM. I asked you to look into the camera and speak directly to Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian leader, and you did. And you said this. I'll play the clip.</s>RICE: I'd say the United States stands with the people of Syria, fully and unequivocally, in their aspirations for peace, for democracy, and for a brighter future. Your days are numbered, and it is time and past time for you to transfer power, responsibly, and peacefully. The longer you hang on, the more damage you do yourself, your family, your interests, and indeed, your country.</s>BLITZER: All right. We're seen on CNN International, as well. They're probably watching in Damascus. Do you want to -- do you want to speak to the Syrian leader once again right now?</s>RICE: Well, Wolf, I think the message that the United States has been conveying and that I delivered last year applies this year. The fact is that, unfortunately, tragically, this war has intensified. Bashar al-Assad has used an ever-more deadly attacks and tactics against his own people, including SCUD missiles of all things. And the country is becoming increasingly fragmented. And the rebels are gaining territory and holding territory. The region is at greater risk. And Assad can't last. And there's no question about that. The only question is how much destruction he will reap before he goes.</s>BLITZER: Are you still confident his days are numbered?</s>RICE: Yes.</s>BLITZER: Ambassador Rice, thanks very much for joining us.</s>RICE: Good to be with you, as always, Wolf.</s>BOLDUAN: A great interview.</s>BLITZER: She's tough.</s>BOLDUAN: She's got a big job, that's for sure. So here's a question. Do you like football?</s>BLITZER: Of course.</s>BOLDUAN: I love football. Well, it is one of the most profitable sports teams in the world, but critics say it has one of the most offensive names, and they're trying a new way to force the Redskins to change. Plus, thousands and thousands of sharks spotted off the Florida coast. We'll take -- we'll talk to Philippe Cousteau about this amazing sight.