    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [April 15, 1996]
    [Pages 581-582]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters in Anchorage, Alaska
    April 15, 1996

    [The exchange is joined in progress.]

    President's Itinerary

        Q. ----your stop in Korea?
        The President. Have a talk with President Kim, and we'll have some
    things to say there about the Korean situation. It's much better than it
    was 3 years ago when I took office in terms of trying to minimize the
    North Korean nuclear problem, which was a big security problem for the
    United States.
        And then I'm going on to Japan to reaffirm the security partnership
    we have with the Japanese and Asia, and then on to Russia to deal with
    the problems of nuclear safety. We've made a lot of progress in the last
    3 years; we've got a lot to do. We have a big job to get a comprehensive
    test ban treaty passed, and then to deal with the aftermath of the cold
    war, to deal with all of those nuclear materials that are out there. We
    want to make sure that they don't fall into the wrong hands and someday
    get put to the wrong uses.
        And I'm glad to be back in Alaska, even at 2 a.m. in the morning,
    and I thank you for coming out. I'm sorry that you all had to stay up so
    late.

    Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

        Q. Mr. President, one of the big questions concerning a lot of
    Alaskans is the issue of oil drilling in ANWR. Do you think there is, in
    the near future, any possibility of doing that environmentally sensitive
    development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
        The President. I don't know. I received your congressional
    delegation, and I listened to what they had to say. And we have
    continued to work not only in Alaska but all across America on the whole
    issue of reconciling development and the environment, and we continue to
    look for ways to do it. But you know, right now the more imminent issue
    as Congress comes back is whether we can pass a budget for the Interior
    Department that deals with the question of the Tongass, and that is the
    one I think that concerns Alaska that will be up on the plate in the
    next couple of weeks. And we've worked very hard out here to try to deal
    with the legitimate interests of the small loggers in trying to do some
    work there while preserving the old-growth trees that are virtually
    irreplaceable. So I'm hoping that that can be worked out. We've worked
    very, very hard on it, and we'll just take these issues as they come and
    see what happens.

    President's Visit to South Korea

        Q. President Clinton, looking at your stop in Korea, what do you
    hope to accomplish there with President Kim?
        The President. Well, we're doing a lot of work on that. I want to
    wait until I see President Kim and make a definitive announcement of any
    kind. But we are essentially continuing on the path of a charter back in
    1993. We're working on ways to not only keep the nuclear problem under
    control and eventually eliminate it, but also to try to do what we can
    to promote an ultimate reconciliation, an end to the conflict. If that
    could happen, then the world would be a much safer place--the whole
    world, and certainly the people in Northern Asia.

    Note: The exchange began at approximately 2 a.m. at Elmendorf Air Force
    Base. In his remarks,

    [[Page 582]]

    the President referred to President Kim Yong-sam of South Korea. The
    press release issued by the Office of the Press Secretary did not
    include the complete opening question. A tape was not available for
    verification of the content of this exchange.