MR. SNOW: I'm not sure anything went wrong. The failed diplomacy is on the part of the North Koreans because what they have done so far is turn down a series of diplomatic initiatives that would have given them everything they have said they wanted, which was the ability to have adequate power for their country, to have economic growth, to have diplomatic ties with other countries, and to have security guarantees. All of that was included in the September 19th agreement of last year. And yet they've walked away from all of it. So if there's a failure in diplomacy, it's on their part. But what also has happened, David, is that over that period of time you have seen the six-party talks continue to evolve, and the United States and the allies working together, trying to figure out what is the proper way and the effective way, diplomatically, to put leverage on the government of North Korea that in the past has been able -- as I was just saying to Brett -- has been able to use bluff and bravado as a way of exacting concessions. And that appears to be something of declining utility at this point. So rather than having something going wrong, what you really have is the emergence of a process now in which the people who have the most leverage over the North Koreans -- and let's face it, the Chinese, the South Koreans, the Japanese, they all have more direct leverage over the North Koreans than we do -- the people who have the greatest ability to influence behavior are now fully invested as equal partners in a process to deal with the government of North Korea. So what really has changed now is not only the method by which you approach it, which is now a multilateral method, but also, I think, the determination and the unity of the parties that are involved.

seen at 11:51, 10 October in Whitehouse Press Briefings. Email this to a friend.
Next item; Original source; Previous item;