North Korea Rejects Talks, Vows to Build up Nuclear Arsenal; Pope Leaving Hospital
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And here it was is happening right now. The North Korean nuclear standoff has taken an ominous turn. In a statement today, North Korea rejected talks on its nuclear program and vowed to bolster its arsenal. It was the first public claim by the north that it possesses nuclear weapons. Details and live reaction from the White House. We will take you there in just a minute. Fewer Army National Guard troops may be headed for duty in Iraq. The new Army secretary says that he expects a significant reduction in the number of National Guard troops called up for the next rotation. His comments came in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. Some lawmakers complained that the military was strained almost to the breaking point. The suspect accused of killing a Florida sheriff's deputy and wounding two others has been captured. A story you saw unfold right here yesterday during our time. The manhunt unfolded live. Authorities say that Jason Wheeler was caught in the Ocala National Forest after a day-long search and a shootout. Wheeler was wounded. He's in the hospital this morning. Wedding bells for Charles and Camilla. That's right, we learned this morning that Britain's Prince Charles will marry longtime love interest Camilla Parker Bowles in April. The wedding will be a largely private affair. And we're going to live to London as you might expect just ahead for more on this surprise wedding announcement. We'll take to you Buckingham Palace.</s>BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, the wedding talk has reached a feverish pitch, hasn't it, today? It is 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. in the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.</s>SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. A lot of news on this day.</s>NGUYEN: Yes, we do. First, though, for the first time, North Korea is boasting publicly that it has a nuclear bomb and will walk away from talks on its nuclear pursuits. The admission may put President Bush on the spot. It does come three weeks after he pledged in his inaugural address to end tyranny. It's very clear today the north apparently took that as a military threat. Now, we will check in with the White House in just a moment. But first, CNN's Atika Shubert begins our coverage from Tokyo.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)</s>ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a brief statement, North Korea says it will no longer take part in the six-party talks, dashing hopes that a halt in its nuclear weapons program can be negotiated soon. The Korean Central News agency quoted an official from North Korea's foreign ministry as saying, "We are compelled to suspend our participation in the talks for an indefinite period until we have recognized that there is justification for us to attend the talks." The statement went on to say that North Korea had manufactured nuclear weapons for self-defense and that they were needed "to cope with the Bush administration's evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the DPRK, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." On her tour of Europe, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was quick to respond, saying the announcement would only deepen North Korea's isolation.</s>CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is an unfortunate move, most especially probably for the people of North Korea, because it only deepens the North Korean isolation from the rest of the international community. It's very clear that all responsible members of the international community, and most especially North Korea's neighbors, support the six-party framework as a way to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.</s>SHUBERT (on camera): The substance of North Korea's comments come as little surprise, but the timing does. The Bush administration has made little mention of North Korea in recent days. Most of the attention has been on Iran. So what does North Korea hope to gain by focusing attention back on its nuclear weapons program and withdrawing further into isolation? Atika Shubert, CNN, Tokyo.</s>SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, President Bush is on the road today to promote his plan to change Social Security and privatize part of it. But North Korea's sudden startling admission may overshadow this message. Senior White House correspondent John King has been traveling with the president. He finds himself right now in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the very latest on this. John, over to you.</s>JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Rick, from Raleigh. As you noted, Mr. Bush wants to talk about Social Security. This announcement from North Korea yet another reminder that the nuclear showdown, two years now, a nuclear showdown with North Korea, a nuclear showdown with Iran, as well, major international issues facing the president as he hopes his second term can be dedicated less to terrorism and international confrontation and more to domestic issues. You heard Secretary Rice in Atika Shubert's piece. The White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, on the flight down here to Raleigh on Air Force One, told reporters, "We've heard this kind of rhetoric before. North Korea's words and actions will only deepen their international isolation." Now, we've heard these kinds of words before. The White House is saying that North Korea often makes provocative, what the White House would call belligerent statements during the on-and-off six-party talks, those negotiations with the United States, and its key partners in this nuclear showdown. The White House is hoping that perhaps North Korea is simply trying to draw attention to itself and will eventually come back to the negotiating table. And in that vein, the White House quite encouraged that China has already said publicly that it hopes that this is just a dramatic statement from North Korea and, in fact, those talks can resume soon. The administration hopes pressure from China, South Korea and Japan and Russia will get North Korea back to the table. But, Rick, it is the first public acknowledgement from North Korea that it has nuclear weapons. Scott McClellan saying the intelligence community has believed that North Korea has had those weapons for about 10 years now, at least one or two of them. And it is a reminder of the strong pressure now from North Korea, testing the administration's commitment to diplomacy when it comes to -- comes to this nuclear showdown. The administration now, of course, will consult its Asian allies, hope to put pressure on North Korea to back away from these statements and come back to the talks -- Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: Is the real challenge for the White House here, John, to try and get them to the negotiating table without rewarding them at the same time for bad behavior?</s>KING: Well, there have been no negotiation since last year. North Korea broke the talks off because of the U.S. presidential election, hoping that Senator John Kerry had won, because he had signaled a very different approach than President Bush had in those negotiations. The argument is over what the diplomats call sequencing. The United States has said all along if North Korea gives up its nuclear program in a verifiable way, that then the United States will talk about incentives, diplomatic recognition, economic incentives. North Korea wants those incentives first, or at least simultaneous. Everyone involved says they believe those issues can be worked out if everybody comes back to the negotiating table. The threshold decision, of course, is -- from the White House perspective, anyway -- is North Korea ready not only to sign a piece of paper that says it will give up its nuclear weapons program, but allow continuous random inspections for years and years to come? The White House says North Korea apparently still reluctant to make that threshold decision.</s>SANCHEZ: White House correspondent John King, as usual, making sense of a complicated issue. We thank you for doing that for us, John. Meanwhile, CNN "Security Watch" will keep you up to date on safety at all times. You can stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Betty.</s>NGUYEN: Now the news about the health of Pope John Paul II. Less than three hours from now, the pope is expected to leave a Rome hospital 10 days after he was rushed there suffering from breathing problems. Our Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci, is live with more on this developing story. Going home fairly soon now, Alessio.</s>ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: That is correct, Betty. We do understand that the pope is expected to leave here around 7:30 p.m. local time. That's 1:30 p.m. on the East Coast of the United States. It's nine days after the pope was rushed here with respiratory problems and an infection to his respiratory apparatus. We understand now from a Vatican statement, as well as form the doctors here at the hospital, that the pope is recuperating quite well and that the infection -- that was the reason why he was brought here in the first place -- has completely healed. Also, the general conditions of the pope are said to be improving quite well. And all diagnostic tests the pope had to go through in the last couple of days, including a CAT scan, apparently have ruled out any kind of other pathogen. Therefore, the doctors, as well as the Vatican, now confident enough that the pope can return to the Vatican about three miles away from here. We also understand from a Vatican statement that the pope has recuperated. His voice, he speaks normally now. You may remember on Sunday, when he delivered his short blessing, he was quite hoarse still. The pope has recuperated his voice, and we understand that once he returns to the Vatican he will check his calendar, check his schedule, and will decide when he will be able to resume his regular working schedule. We do expect him after leaves from here to see him in public the next time on Sunday, 12:00 local time here in Rome, during his regular Sunday prayer, appearing from the window of his study back at the Vatican.</s>NGUYEN: Alessio, so he's not going to jump right back into his regular schedule. We had heard a little bit earlier that he may be taking a weeklong vacation. Is that possible, as well?</s>VINCI: It's not a vacation. When Lent begins, Lent, the period of Lent, the 40-day period preceding Easter, the pope usually goes into a weeklong retreat, prayer retreat. And that is expected to begin on Sunday after angelus. So the pope will pretty much disappear from public eye after the angelus on Sunday. And we'll see him again the following Sunday. Again, for the angelus. It's just a prayer that he does, a retreat that he does every year. Not connected necessarily to this particular illness.</s>NGUYEN: Yes, and not connected to his health at all. All right. Alessio Vinci, we thank you for that -- Rick.</s>SANCHEZ: The beleaguered head of the United Nations is in London today where he received the unambiguous support of the British prime minister, Tony Blair. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was among the dignitaries at the forum to discuss overhauling the United Nations. Mr. Blair told the audience that Annan had acted with great distinction in the wake of Iraq's oil-for-food scandal. Annan has so far resisted calls for his resignation. He told the gathering that he intends to spend his remaining two years as secretary-general pushing for reforms in the United Nations. And then there's this: a surprise wedding announcement in Britain today. Prince Charles plans to marry his love-in, or love interest, Camilla Parker Bowles -- or both, I suppose. She's the woman Princess Diana called the "third person" in her "crowded marriage." Those are direct quotes. CNN's Richard Quest is outside Buckingham Palace. He's joining us now to fill us in on how all of this came about. And I guess the first question is, will the British people accept this? And how are they taking it, Richard, including you, by the way?</s>RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I was totally surprised this morning. I'd already said that if you told me at Cornflakes this morning that by the late afternoon I'd be standing outside Buckingham Palace reporting the engagement, I would have said that you were mad. And, you see, we all knew that at some point, Rick, they were going to have to regularize the relationship between Charles and Camilla. But nobody really thought it was going to happen so soon. There has been so many issues that had to be settled. What sort of ceremony? What title would she take? What role would she play? Well, today we have a lot of those answers as they've announced their engagement. First of all, some messages of congratulations from the majesty, Queen Elizabeth the II Charles' Mother. She said she was very pleased. She and the Duke of Edinburgh were very pleased by the announcement, and that they wished the couple well for their life together. On the political side, the British prime minister, who had to give his approval, who had to be consulted, Tony Blair also said in a statement that he was very pleased.</s>TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm delight for the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles. It's very happy news. And when the cabinet heard it this morning, they said, "Congratulations and good wishes on behalf of the whole government." We all wish them every happiness for their future together.</s>QUEST: And the fascinating part, of course, it will be a civil ceremony. She's a divorced woman. He's the supreme governor of the church of England. So a religious wedding ceremony was never viable. So it's a civil ceremony that will be followed by a service, Rick, of blessings and prayer and dedication that will be held by the archbishop of Canterbury at Sir George's Chapel. It will be private, friends and family. The British public remains to be seen. That dreadful phrase that we always wince when people like me say it, Rick, and I'm sorry, I have to sort of -- I have to use the oldest journalistic cliche in the book and say only time will tell whether the British public will go along with this one.</s>SANCHEZ: You know what? We'll do this. We'll bring you back in a couple of days after you've had a couple of pints with some friends there and gotten the opinion at some of those pubs to get a sense of what the people are saying. But let me ask you this: are they going to have to fudge the rules a little bit to make this work?</s>QUEST: They fudged them already by having the civil ceremony. It's never been -- it's happened before. We have never had a monarch or an heir to the thrown going through a civil ceremony. He's the head of the church of England. So that's one fudge. The second fudge, she won't become Queen Camilla. She will become the Duchess of Cornwall. And then when he's king she becomes the prince's consort. Now, the palace (ph), nothing new about that. We have Prince Albert with Victoria. We've got the Duke of Edinburgh with the queen. Frankly, it's a fudge. We've got a fudge in terms of what role she is going to play in the future. There's enough -- I mean, you know, you've got a good old pound of fudge going on with this one. But the truth is, the truth is, Rick and Betty, we always knew this was going to happen. And it was really a question of how they would do it. And frankly, one has to say they haven't done a bad job of it. Charles has always said, Camilla is nonnegotiable. So it was just a question of when and how.</s>SANCHEZ: And Richard Quest, none better to bring us a story like this. We do thank you, Richard. Stay out of the rain and go get yourself some fudge.</s>NGUYEN: Yes, all over that fudge, that Richard. OK. Well, we are monitoring the president today. Right now he is in Raleigh, North Carolina, discussing Social Security at a town hall meeting. Here's a live look at the president right now at that meeting. And, of course, he's been traveling the nation talking about Social Security, a plan that he is really pushing hard to get through Congress. We'll be checking in with the president to see if any new developments develop from this town hall meeting.</s>SANCHEZ: Here is a story you have been following. It's the Fashion Week story that...</s>NGUYEN: You have been following it.</s>SANCHEZ: Carefully riveted by. During New York's Fashion Week we have been showing you what is in, what's out.</s>NGUYEN: What's out.</s>SANCHEZ: This, of course, in the world of the people who know about these things.</s>NGUYEN: What about the designers, though? What does this week mean for them?</s>SANCHEZ: Also, we're going to take you to Gaza. Are there any cracks in the Mideast truce? And are we seeing them already? And what could possibly be the result? We're going to analyze this for you.</s>NGUYEN: And you remember the Rhode Island club fire? Well, it's been two years since the deadly accident. We will speak to one of the survivors to see how she is coping with life now.