[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 30 (Monday, July 31, 2000)]
[Page 1664]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Yoshiro 
Mori of Japan in Okinawa, Japan

July 22, 2000

Japan-U.S. Trade

    Q. Mr. President, has Mr. Mori agreed to a fourth year of the trade 
deregulation talks with the U.S.?
    President Clinton. Maybe the Prime Minister should answer that.
    Prime Minister Mori. Yes, we agreed to continue the dialog for 
another year.
    President Clinton. And I'm very pleased about that because it's, I 
think, been a very fruitful thing for both our countries, and I think it 
will--the agreements we've made here at this summit, I think, will be 
very positive for Japan's economy and our relationship.

North Korea

    Q. Mr. President, what is your assessment of North Korea's offer to 
curb its missile program in exchange for space exploration assistance? 
Is there any reason to believe that's credible?
    And Mr. Prime Minister, were you reassured by that offer?
    President Clinton. Well, let me say, based on what President Putin 
said last night in our conversations, I think that it's something that 
needs to be explored, and we need to see exactly what the specifics are. 
I think that he would agree with that, too. It's not clear to me exactly 
what the offer is and what is being requested and the time for it. But I 
think we heard enough so that there should be an attempt to determine 
what the facts are here, but I can't say that I'm clear enough on what 
the offer was to make a final judgment.

Note: The exchange began at 9 a.m. at the Bankoku Shinryokan convention 
center. In his remarks, the President referred to President Vladimir 
Putin of Russia. A tape was not available for verification of the 
content of this exchange.