March 21, 1994 – CBS World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
March 21, 1994 – Another day of saber rattling from North Korea, and another day of threatened sanctions against the regime of Kim Il Sung.
The isolated, paranoid and most likely nuclear-armed North Korea was once again under the scrutiny of the world, as The International Atomic Energy Commission’s Board of Governors met in Vienna and voted to give the Pyongyang government one last chance to permit a full inspection of its nuclear facilities. The IAEA said the dispute was going to be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. War jitters were sweeping over the Korean peninsula as talks between the two Koreas broke down, with the North threatening to reduce the Seoul to a “sea of fire”. Earlier in the day, a North Korean statement threatened final withdrawal from an international agreement on nuclear non-proliferation. An emergency meeting was called between South Korean President Kim and his top security advisers amid escalating tensions along the peninsula. As the meeting got underway, Kim ordered the military to step up defensive preparedness against a possible North Korean attack. He also instructed officials to push ahead with the deployment of Patriot missiles as soon as possible. Later on in the week, Kim was expected to travel to Tokyo and Beijing to consult with leaders over the situation.
And in Bosnia – Peacekeepers found a large cache of tanks and artillery hidden inside the Weapons Exclusion Zone around Sarajevo. A tense armed standoff resulted as the UN played down reports on the significance of the arsenal, discovered just northwest of the city. UN Commander Simon McDowell said the guns weren’t pointing at Sarajevo, nor were they capable of engaging Sarajevo and that they were under observation.
And back home, there were more aftershocks from the big January earthquake in Los Angeles, with the biggest one felt so far. Alarmists were clamoring for airtime to pronounce “the big one” was coming.
All that – and a lot more for this March 21, 1994 as presented by The CBS World News Roundup.
