Roh, Bush Agree on Peaceful End of NK Nukes
2003-05-16
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday agreed to pursue a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear row, but they did not exclude using economic pressure or military force as final options.
Standing beside Roh at the Rose Garden after their half-hour private meeting, Bush said, “We, of course, discussed the need to have a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. I assured the (South Korean) president that we will continue to work to achieve a peaceful solution.”
However, a joint statement issued after the two leaders' first summit, stated that “increased (North Korean) threats to peace and stability on the peninsula would require consideration of further steps,” reflecting Washington's hard line stance toward the North.
Despite the generally tougher tone taken by the two leaders, a smiling Roh expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the summit. “When I left Korea, I had hopes and concerns in my mind, but after talking with President Bush, I return home only with hopes.”
Bush presented a united front with Roh, calling the South Korean head of state a “good friend” and giving him a personal tour of the second floor of the White House, including the Lincoln Room.
The two leaders called for a “complete, verifiable and irreversible” dismantling the North's nuclear programs in their joint statement.
In a post-summit briefing, National Security Advisor Ra Jong-yil said further steps will be taken only if the situation reaches its “ultimate limit,” when all other means are exhausted. He said that limit is still a long way off. Ra refused to speculate what the further measures could be.
In the protracted standoff with the U.S., Pyongyang has said it would view economic sanctions as a declaration of war.
Roh, on his first-ever trip to the U.S., set out to persuade the Bush administration to rule out sanctions or military force as options to deal with the crisis, but Ra's U.S. counterpart Condoleezza Rice insisted on keeping all options open in the lead-up to the Roh-Bush summit.
Talking to reporters on his way with Roh to a dinner at the White House, Bush left open the possibility of continued dialogue with Pyongyang, saying that “good progress” was being made on the crisis. He praised the role China played at the three-way talks in Beijing last month and called for the participation of Seoul and Tokyo in future rounds of talks.
Seoul also expressed for the first time its intention to condition economic assistance to the impoverished communist state on its behavior regarding the nuclear crisis.
“Roh stressed that future inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation will be conducted in light of developments on the North Korean nuclear issue,” the statement said.
It also reaffirmed Bush's position that Pyongyang is at fault for the U.S.' “bold step” to help the North becoming stalled at the Beijing meeting, due to the North's nuclear brinkmanship.
Regarding the U.S. move to pull-back its troops from near the border with North Korea, the two countries agreed to consider the nuclear standoff before making major changes. “The relocation of U.S. bases north of the Han River should be pursued, taking careful account of the political, economic and security situation on the Korean peninsula,” it said.
The two sides, however, said they will act promptly on the relocation of Yongsan Garrison, the headquarters of U.S. forces, which is located in central Seoul.
The estrangement of the two allies, which peaked with the election of former human rights lawyer Roh on the back of anti-U.S. sentiment last year, has spooked foreign investors and dented the Korean economy, forcing the president to send his top foreign affairs and defense aides on missions to the U.S. to allay investor fears.
In his joint appearance with Roh at the Rose Garden, Bush said he has full confidence in the Korean economy as engine for growth and vitality. He also showed support for Roh's commitment to develop Seoul into a regional economic hub.
Source : www.korea.net
