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Bush offers North Korea chance for peace deal
2007-09-07
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday that the United States would consider a peace treaty with North Korea if it gave up nuclear arms, underlining Washington's shift away from a hard line on the communist state. Bush's comments follow several weeks of apparent progress in ending a crisis over the weapons program of a country he had once bracketed with pre-war Iraq and Iran in an "axis of evil." "We're looking forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will happen when Kim Jong-il verifiably dismantles his weapons program," Bush told reporters after meeting South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun as Asia-Pacific leaders gathered for a summit in Australia. "If you could be a little clearer ..." Roh urged the president after his initial comment. Bush said he thought he had been as clear as he could be, then said more directly that he was referring to a formal peace agreement. Fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an inconclusive truce. Hawks in Washington, such as former U.N. envoy John Bolton, had long made the case for a tough line on North Korean leader Kim's demands for a formal peace treaty and bilateral talks. But a second round of such one-on-one talks took place last weekend in Geneva between the top U.S. negotiator and his North Korean counterpart. U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said after those talks that Pyongyang, which carried out its first nuclear test just a year ago, had agreed to fully account for and disable its nuclear program by the end of the year. Bush said he was "optimistic" about the progress of the effort to convince North Korea to give up its weapons, but said there was still more work to be done. With a summit between Roh and Kim due next month, Bush asked the South Korean leader to urge his North Korean counterpart "to adhere to the agreement that he made with us." SEOUL'S SOFTER LINE While the United States and South Korea are close allies, Bush and Roh have not always enjoyed an easy rapport, partly because of Seoul's softer line on the North. After news reports of apparent tension during the photo opportunity, the White House moved quickly to dispel such an impression, blaming any awkwardness on translation. In contrast to the Roh meeting, Bush's visit right afterwards with Russian President Vladimir Putin was all smiles, as they reminisced about their July summit at Bush's father's home in Maine and joked about a fishing trip they took together. They did not delve deeply into any sensitive subjects in their comments to reporters at the end of the meeting. In a speech to business executives earlier in the day, Bush said the eyes of the world would be on Beijing and called on China to allow more freedoms ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games. "We urge China's leaders to use this moment to show confidence by demonstrating a commitment to greater openness and tolerance," said Bush a day after accepting an invitation from Chinese President Hu Jintao to attend the Games. Putin, vying with the United States and China for a leading role in the booming Asia-Pacific region, signed a deal to buy Australian uranium to power its civilian nuclear power plants. Australia holds 40 percent of the world's reserves, but only agreed to sell uranium to Moscow after guarantees it would not be resold to Iran or Syria. Russia has close ties with both states. Putin visited Indonesia on Thursday in a clear sign of his commitment to turn Moscow's face to Asia, signing a $1 billion deal to sell Russian tanks, helicopters and submarines. Russia has now become the largest weapons supplier in Asia. Putin and Bush were expected to talk later in the day about U.S. missile defense plans in Europe, the most recent irritant to their relations. (Additional reporting by John Ruwitch, Caren Bohan, Matt Spetalnick and Jalil Hamid)
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