THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                   November 6, 2000


                             PRESS BRIEFING
                                   BY
                              JAKE SIEWERT

                    The James S. Brady Briefing Room


10:45 A.M. EST


     Q    Is the stop in Korea ruled out now?

     MR. SIEWERT:  Yes.  We will not be stopping in Korea as part of
this trip.  The President has not made a final decision on whether to
travel to North Korea to follow up on the good work that Secretary
Albright did there.  But we expect to make that decision in the coming
weeks, and we will let you know.  But it is certainly not going to
happen as part of the Brunei-Vietnam trip.

     Q    What is the reason that the President is not stopping there on
this trip?

     MR. SIEWERT:  Well, I think we made some substantial progress in
the discussions on missiles and we're doing that in a systematic way.
We want to be perfectly clear about where we are and where the North
Koreans are, and have a full understanding of that.  But the missile
talks are one factor that we'll base that judgment upon, and they were
useful in helping clarify where the United States stood, where the North
Koreans stood, expand some areas of common understanding.  But there are
gaps there, and as a practical matter, the trip is very close and no
decision is made ultimately on North Korea.  But it's just not feasible
at this time to do that trip, to pull it together.

     Q    When is the next round of talks on the missiles?

     MR. SIEWERT:  You should check with State.  I think they're having
some follow-up talks at a different level, but why don't you check with
the State Department on that.

     Q    Are you saying there is no stop in North Korea for logistical
reasons or for diplomatic reasons?

     MR. SIEWERT:  No, it's just not feasible to pull together a trip at
this point, both because the substance isn't there and it's just not --
we're just not in a position right now where we can make a decision to
go forward.  But we'll make a decision about whether the President goes
there before the end of his term at a later date.

....

     Q    Is he disappointed he isn't going to Korea?

     MR. SIEWERT:  Well, the President has always wanted to go to Korea
if he thinks it will be helpful in advancing our agenda there in helping
reduce proliferation in the region and helping bring an end to the
missile program there.  But that's the only reason why we would go, if
we think that such a summit meeting would be productive in advancing our
interests in the region, our interests in national security.  We have
not made a final decision on that at this point.  As part of this trip,
it's too early to make that decision.


                           END 11:07 A.M. EST