Source: http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/06_313.htm http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/06_313.htm
Date: October 31, 2006

USUN PRESS RELEASE #  313(06)   
October 31, 2006 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 	 	 
Remarks by Ambassador John R. Bolton, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, on Cote d’Ivoire, North Korea and other matters, at the Security Council stakeout, October 31, 2006 
Ambassador Bolton:  Okay, this is going to have to be brief because I have other obligations.  I think we’ve arrived at a very perspicuous result on the Cote d’Ivoire.  We will be in consultations again tomorrow, hoping for a vote tomorrow afternoon.  I think that’s a doable objective, and our hope is to reach agreement on some of the issues that we’ve been discussing, and I think this additional 24 hours will give us that opportunity and we’re going to work very hard to try and do that. 
Reporter:  Is that 24 hours of a power vacuum?   
Ambassador Bolton:  No.  The AU resolution itself, the communiqué says the transition starts tomorrow so there’s no more or less of a power vacuum than there would have been if we had come to a vote tonight.  In fact, I think everybody understands this Council is working very hard on this and we hope to send a clearer signal in support of what the African Union has done, and that’s what we’re working on. 
Reporter:  Is it the U.S. position that Laurent Gbagbo should have the power to appoint civilian and military officials?  
Ambassador Bolton:  I’m not going to get into the specifics of the text we’ve been discussing.  I think our view of trying to move toward a satisfactory resolution of Cote d’Ivoire is well known, and that’s what we’ve been working on for the past four or five days. 
Reporter:  Is the U.S. reconsidering the financial sanctions that stalled the six-party talks? 
Ambassador Bolton:  I’m sorry?  
Reporter:  Is the U.S. reconsidering the financial sanctions that stalled the six-party talks? 
Ambassador Bolton:  No, not to my knowledge.  
Reporter:  There are some reports that that was a carrot that was put forth in the press today. 
Ambassador Bolton:  Not to my knowledge.  
Reporter:  What did you tell the families of the abductees today regarding… 
Ambassador Bolton:  Well, we had a long discussion.  This is the second time I’ve met the families of the victims.  I think the first time I them was about three years ago in my previous position and I said we were very strongly supportive of the Japanese view that North Korea had to allow the reuniting of the families and make full explanations of the whereabouts – or the what had happened to the people who had been kidnapped who may be deceased by now which the North Koreans have not done.  I said this is emblematic of the reason why North Korea has been on our list of state sponsors of terrorism and why we’re so concerned about human rights violations in North Korea.  The abducting of innocent civilians by a regime like that tells you about the character of the regime and it’s obviously both an act of terrorism and a gross abuse of human rights and that’s why we’re so troubled by it.  Not just the nuclear and chemical and biological and ballistic missile programs that North Korea has but by these acts of terrorism that they’ve perpetrated over the years, and its something we want to work very hard with the government of Japan to resolve. 
Reporter:  Should the mere fact that North Korea has returned to the talks, should that mean that they should get any carrots? 
Ambassador Bolton:  No, we’ve made it very clear that returning to the talks is something we want because we want a peaceful and diplomatic solution.  But the text of Resolution 1718 and, indeed, 1695 before that and all of the things we’ve said is we want performance by the North Koreans.  We want them to comply with their obligations that they undertook under the September 2005 declaration to get to toward the complete verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of their nuclear program.  So going back to the six party talks is a step but we’ve always said it’s not just the talks, it’s performance.   
Reporter:  In a meeting between you and some members of the abductees you quoted to President Bush as saying that continuation of the Kim Jong Il regime during his presidency is some sort of an embarrassment or something like that.  Could you comment?  Could you confirm? 
Ambassador Bolton:  I don’t think that is exactly what I said.  I think the President has been clear, his concern about -- his views on the North Korean regime and the kind of oppression of its citizens over the years and I was comparing the human rights violations that we see that our envoy on North Korean human rights issues, Jay Lefkowitz, points out repeatedly, and the tie-in between the human rights abuses and the kidnapping of innocent civilians.  And this was a conversation very similar to the one I had with the families of the abductees three years ago.  Okay. Anything else? 
Reporter: (Inaudible) so we know their stories? 
Ambassador Bolton:  Sure, we can give you those names. 
Reporter:  The Josette Sheeran brochure, was that produced by the State Department or by the -- 
Ambassador Bolton:  I've never seen the brochure, so I can't comment on it.  One last question. 
Reporter: Where are we at on Iran?  Are we getting near any resolution?  And does this announcement by North Korea -- is it going to affect the discussions on Iran? 
Ambassador Bolton:  We're going to continue to push for the sanctions resolution.  We want to try and get it done as quickly as possible.  We do feel a sense of urgency, given Iran's continued efforts to acquire all the technology it needs to have a weapons program. So we're going to continue to work on that, we hope at a very expedited pace.  Okay? Thanks a lot.