Q If I could ask also about two things that are in the news, both North Korea and Iran's nuclear programs have come up again this week, with North Korea making threats to either back or resume its things -- and the latest IAEA report on Iran -- how much is that going to come up next week? How do you respond to these steps, which don't seem very encouraging?

MR. HADLEY: Well, the -- those issues certainly will come out -- come up. Taking the Iran one first, that is not reassuring that Iran is not cooperating with the IAEA; that is just -- unfortunately it only increases the suspicions that the international community has as to what are the purposes of Iran's nuclear activities. If -- you know, if they were as benign as the Iranians say, then why is there such trouble getting a full accounting of what their activities are, as the IAEA has tried to do?

And I think it will underscore the need for increased action to put pressure on Iran to understand that they have a strategic choice to make: They can continue with this program that is -- continues to be suspicious, if not increasingly suspicious, and they will be -- face increasing isolation; or they can make a shift, suspend their -- verifiably suspend their enrichment program, and come to negotiation and put this on the table and try and find a better way forward.

But it is troubling that Iran has not done so, and since they have not made that strategic choice and seem to be even less cooperative, I think you'll find a call over the weeks ahead for greater pressure on Iran. You heard this last week, we've made some announcements of additional sanctions. We talked I think yesterday about looking at a fourth U.N. Security Council resolution. There will be some opportunities in the next weeks to consult about that and I think you will be seeing an effort by the entire international community to put more pressure on Iran.

On North Korea, it's hard to know whether their statements are -- reflect a change in policy or are simply the kind of negotiating that we've seen before. They have a pattern, as you know, of negotiating and then trying to provoke, if you will, test, create divisions, see if the six parties are serious in sticking together and sticking by their deals.

And we've had a cycle from time to time, but when you go through that cycle and negotiate, they step out, they're obstructionists, they try to divide, and if we stand firm they come back into a negotiating cycle. We don't know whether we're in one of those and this is sort of posturing and pressuring, or whether it's something more than that. I don't think we know now; I don't think we will for a while.

The next step, though, is very clear. They've given us a declaration, given us a declaration of which we have a lot of questions. It was not the complete and correct declaration that we had hoped. We have a lot of questions about them. We've made clear that with the six we're prepared -- with the other five, with the five, we're prepared to go forward so long as there is a verification protocol that will allow us to answer the questions that are left open in their declaration -- a very reasonable thing to try to keep the process going forward.

We've made it very clear to North Korea that if they accept a verification protocol, we are prepared to go forward and take them off the terrorist list. That's been the President's position for a couple months. What they need to do is say yes -- to accept a verification protocol -- that is something we have worked with the other four or the five of the six-party talks -- accept that verification protocol and we can get back on track and start a process which over time will allow us to verify the declaration they've been made, and move on to the next phase in this process.

We very much want to do that, but it takes six; it doesn't take just five. We, the five, are agreed on the next steps and what is required is for North Korea to accept that agenda going forward. It's a reasonable agenda. It keeps the process moving forward. We hope they will accept it. We'll see.

seen at 09:00, 20 September in Whitehouse Press Briefings. Email this to a friend.
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