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Thursday, April 17, 2003
hina hosts talks to
10 -resolve nuke standoff
By Sang-Hun Choe
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea — The United States
^nd North Korea will try to resolve their six-
rionth standoff over Pyongyang's suspected
nuclear weapons program in talks arranged by
?hina, the communist North's closest ally, U.S.
^nd South Korean officials said Wednesday.
The Beijing talks could happen as early as next
veek, officials said. Japanese media, citing
unnamed sources, said they would start April 23.
In Washington, Secretary of State Colin
Powell said the agree-
u
nent to hold talks was
good news but added
|hat an early break
through was not in the
offing.
‘We believe this is
khe beginning of a long,
[intense process of dis
cussion,” Powell said in
i interview with
ssociated Press Television News.
“We will lay out clearly our concerns about
heir nuclear weapons development programs and
ther weapons of mass destruction, of their prolif-
ration activities, missile programs” among other
issues, he said.
icknowledgesthes China will participate in the discussions, the
ladelphia, Penns|iii first between Washington and Pyongyang since
U.S. officials said in October that North Korea
lat it is the right is admitted running a clandestine nuclear weapons
i and do other thic; program.
Washington has called for multilateral talks to
resolve the issue, and renewed its promise
Wednesday to try to bring other nations - espe
cially South Korea and Japan — into the talks.
Pyongyang earlier insisted on negotiations
only with Washington, but agreed last week to
allow China at the table.
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The talks likely will cool tensions on the
Korean Peninsula, roiled for months by sabre-rat
tling rhetoric from North Korea and massive, joint
U.S.-South Korean military drills.
Powell said the mood on the peninsula is one
of relative quiet, adding that this could auger
well for the talks.
“We are hopeful that nothing will happen that
would make the political environment difficult,”
he said.
As for the North's penchant for delivering inflam
matory statements, Powell said, “They seem to be
not more provocative than usual. By the standards of
normal discourse between us and the DPRK, it is rel
atively calm.”
Yet there is a sense of
urgency about the situa
tion because North
Korea, already believed
to have one or two
nuclear weapons, could
extract enough plutoni
um for several more
bombs within months if
it begins reprocessing
existing stocks of spent nuclear fuel.
North Korea has accused the United States of
planning to invade once the war in Iraq is over.
President Bush — who once described North
Korea as part of an “axis of evil” with Iran and
Iraq — has said he wants to resolve the nuclear
crisis peacefully, but he has not ruled out a mili
tary solution.
North Korea has a history of engaging in tough
bargaining in prolonged negotiations.
Powell has said the quick U.S. military success
in Iraq may have influenced Pyongyang's thinking
on opening diplomatic discussions.
“The one thing that is absolutely clear, is that at
whatever level it starts, and with whatever atten
dance, it has to ultimately encompass the views
and thoughts of all the neighbors in the region,”
Powell has said.
We believe this is the beginning
of a long, intense process
of discussion.
— Colin Powell
Secretary of State
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American Airlines
avoids bankruptcy
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By Angela K. Brown
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH, Texas —
American Airlines flight atten-
lants reversed themselves and
ipproved $340 million in labor
:oncessions Wednesday, pulling
he world's largest carrier back
rom the brink of bankruptcy.
American welcomed the
eprieve but warned that its trou-
)les may not be over.
The Association of
Professional Flight Attendants
said 10,76 i votes were cast for
:he concessions package and
9,652 against, a 1,642-vote
swing from just one day earlier,
when flight attendants narrow-
y rejected the package of lay
offs, wage cuts and reduced
uenefits.
After the initial rejection, the
union and company had extend
ed the balloting, saying some
workers had encountered diffi
culty in voting and that it was a
ast shot at avoiding bankruptcy.
“This is not a day for rejoic-
ng,” said a union spokeswoman,
mri Bassani. "Tough times lie
ahead for our airline and our
members. By ratifying this
agreement, we will be giving up
a great deal to try to keep our
airline out of bankruptcy."
Unlike pilots and ground
workers, who approved conces
sions Tuesday, flight attendants
weren't allowed to change their
votes once cast. During the vot
ing period, American sweetened
the original deal by offering
one-time bonuses of up to 4.5
percent in 2006 or later if the
company's credit ratings
improve sharply.
"The people of American
Airlines have together made his
tory," said Donald J. Carty,
American chairman and CEO.
"These agreements represent the
most ambitious effort to consen-
sually restructure costs ever, not
only in airline history but in U.S.
history."
American asked its three
main unions to approve the bulk
of $1.8 billion in annual labor
cuts sought.
The board of directors of
American's parent, AMR Corp.,
had been prepared to meet by
teleconference Wednesday night
and approve a bankruptcy filing
if flight attendants had rejected
the labor cuts, a company
spokesman said.
Stocks fall sharply,
Dow closes down 145
By Hope Yen
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Investors
brushed aside a wave of encour
aging earnings Wednesday, giv
ing blue-chip stocks their
sharpest decline in more than
two weeks. However, tech
shares managed a gain on strong
results from Microsoft and Intel.
The Dow Jones industrial
average closed down 144.75,
or 1.7 percent, at 8,257.61. It
was the biggest decline since
March 31, when blue-chip
stocks finished 153 points
lower; the loss also offset
much of the 198-point gain in
the previous two sessions.
The broader market finished
mixed. The Nasdaq composite
index rose 3.71, or 0.3 percent,
to 1,394.72. The Standard &
Poor's 500 index dropped 10.90,
lor 1.2 percent, to 879.91.
Analysts said many traders
were choosing to cash in quick
profits from the market's recent
rally on fears the advance may
have been too much, too soon.
Downbeat outlooks from
Coca-Cola and 3M added to
the pessimism.
“Keep in mind, we've had a
pretty substantial rally as a
result of the war," said Todd
Clark, head of listed equity
trading at Wells Fargo
Securities. "While earnings
have been better than expected,
we're having a little bit of a
sell-on-the-news mentality."
Microsoft rose 30 cents to
$24.91 after the software com
pany reported fiscal third-quar
ter earnings that beat Wall
Street's lowered expectations.
Intel climbed $1.03 to
$18.16 after the technology
giant posted first-quarter profits
that beat analysts' estimates by 2
cents per share.
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