{ "error": "", "type": "text", "title": "Interview With Norah O'Donnell of CBS This Morning - China, North Korea, and South Korea", "slug": "interview-with-norah-odonnell-of-cbs-this-morning-china-north-korea-and-south-korea", "text": "
\"QUESTION:<\/strong> First, let\u2019s talk about Mar-a-Lago. A Chinese woman goes into the President\u2019s private club, she\u2019s got four cell phones, she\u2019s got malware. Is this an act of espionage?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> So I can\u2019t talk about the details of the incident. There\u2019s an active investigation taking place. But I think this tells the American people the threat that China poses, the efforts that they\u2019re making here inside the United States not only against government officials, but more broadly. It\u2019s one of the topics that\u2019s being discussed in these trade negotiations. The theft of American intellectual property is a big business to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, and President Trump is determined to push back against it.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> You mean China stealing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of property from us, Americans?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> That\u2019s right, intellectual property. That is, they come in, take it through software. Companies that do business in China, they just flat-out steal it. It\u2019s been going on for decades. The first president to actually take it seriously is President Trump, and Secretary Mnuchin and Ambassador Lighthizer are doing their best to get an enforcement mechanism so this will stop.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> And is the woman who was arrested in Mar-a-Lago connected to that effort?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> I can\u2019t say anything about that particular incident.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> But it\u2019s being looked at closely?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Yes. Yes, ma\u2019am.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> How are we fighting back against that Chinese threat? Because you\u2019ve described it as a threat to our democracy from the Chinese.<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> It very much is. They very much want to undermine our Western values, the rule of law, transparency. All the things that we hold most dear, China has a different value set. Look, they\u2019re an important trading partner. We have \u2013 in Kansas, we sold a lot of products into China. We want that; President Trump wants that too. But we have to change the relationship in a way that it is fair, that it\u2019s reciprocal, that they\u2019re not stealing our stuff, and push back against them, whether the threat is in the South China Sea, the threat is to our intellectual property, or the threat is of their espionage here inside the United States. [...]<\/p> QUESTION:<\/strong> I want to turn now to North Korea because you have been heavily involved in this. You\u2019ve met more with Kim Jong-un, the leader, than just about anybody else. President Trump\u2019s second summit with the North Korean leader failed to produce an agreement to declare and denuclearize their nuclear weapons. Will there be a third summit with North Korea?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> I\u2019m confident there will be.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> When?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> Soon?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> I hope so. Look, we came out of Hanoi with a deeper understanding of each other, the positions that the two sides had. The two leaders were able to make progress in that respect. We didn\u2019t get as far as the world is demanding. These are global sanctions that are on North Korea today.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> Are you disappointed?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> It\u2019s a negotiation, and we\u2019ve always known this was going to take a while, so I don\u2019t know that I was disappointed. You always hope you\u2019ll make progress faster, better. You know that in every interaction you have. We\u2019re determined; I\u2019m convinced the North Koreans are determined as well. Chairman Kim has promised me, he\u2019s promised President Trump he will denuclearize. Now it\u2019s the mission of my team to make sure that that happens.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> And so this is really going to come to a head next week, again, because the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, is coming to the White House to meet with President Trump and you. Will you agree to some easing of economic sanctions to continue the momentum on these talks with the North Koreans?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> President Trump has been unambiguous. Our administration\u2019s policy is incredibly clear: Economic sanctions, United Nations Security Council sanctions, will not be lifted until we achieve the ultimate objective that we set out now almost two years ago.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> So it\u2019s my understanding that the South Koreans are really pushing the U.S. to try and open some of these economic sanctions \u2013 the Kaesong manufacturing park, the reopening of tourism in North Korea \u2013 they want to continue this. You\u2019re saying the U.S. is going to say, no, we\u2019re not going there?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> I talk to my South Korean counterpart a lot. She\u2019s a delightful, capable minister for their country. They\u2019re neighbors with the North Koreans. Many North \u2013 South Koreans have family members there. I understand the sentiment, but they\u2019ve been great partners, and we have worked closely together to enforce these sanctions. We appreciate what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> And just to give the context of why I\u2019m asking that question is because it\u2019s my understanding the South Koreans are pushing for that because the diplomatic channels have gone cold. Have the diplomatic channels gone cold?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Nope.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> They\u2019re still open?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> With the North Koreans?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> Between the U.S. and the North?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> And the South and the North?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> Those diplomatic \u2013 okay.<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Yes, we have had conversations after Hanoi about how to move forward.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> And again, the significance of next week, April 11th, the day that the South Korean president will meet with President Trump, it\u2019s a big day in North Korea --<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n QUESTION:<\/strong> -- is my understanding, that Kim Jong-un is going to give a big speech there. What are you watching from in that speech? Are we expecting some sort of surprise out of North Korea next week?<\/p>\n SECRETARY POMPEO:<\/strong> It is a big day. It\u2019s something that\u2019s an annual event where the leader of North Korea speaks to his people. We\u2019ll watch very closely what he says. I don\u2019t expect there\u2019ll be great surprise, but I do hope that he will share his sentiment, his sentiment that says: We \u2013 I believe, as the leader of North Korea, I believe the right thing to do is for us to engage with the United States to denuclearize our country, and that we\u2019ll have a brighter future for the North Korean people.<\/p>\n We hope that\u2019s what he\u2019ll talk about with his people, and we\u2019ll be watching it very closely.\"<\/p>",
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