Clinton Nov. 14 Interview with the Associated Press

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam)

INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Aboard Air Force One
En route Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam
November 14, 2000

12:40 A.M. EST

Q: We wanted to ask you about also North Korea. Did the missile talks
fail in Malaysia, did they fail to give you what you wanted to hear?
How far apart is that and what's the prospect of a trip there?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we're making some progress, but we haven't
resolved it all. We think it's quite important to work out an
arrangement with them in which, one, we stop the missile development -
they stop the missile development and the sales of missiles. Now, they
obviously need to earn some funds from some other places and we think
there are ways they can do that.

Secondly, we want to keep the North-South dialogue going. We strongly
support what President Kim Dae-jung did with Chairman Jong Il. We
think that was a good thing to do and we think it ought to continue.
And we want to also continue the agreement we made with them early in
my term, which ended the nuclear development program, which when I
became President I was told by my predecessors that it was the most
serious national security problem we were facing at the time.

So I wouldn't rule out or in a trip, if that's where you're going on
this. I just think the most important thing is that we're engaged with
them and we're making constructive progress. And I hope we can make
more before my tenure is over, because I think it will leave my
successor an easier time.

END

1:20 A.M. EST