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Bush says he`s serious about North Korea
Kuta, Indonesia, Oct 22: Us President George W Bush said today that Washington and its partners were serious about offering North Korea security guarantees, a move that Pyongyang has dismissed as `laughable`.
Kuta, Indonesia, Oct 22: Us President George
W Bush said today that Washington and its partners were
serious about offering North Korea security guarantees, a
move that Pyongyang has dismissed as "laughable".
"We're all willing to sign some sort of document, not
a treaty, that says 'we won't attack you,' but he (North
Korean Leader Kim Jong-Il) needs to abandon his nuclear
program, and do so in a verifiable way," Bush said.
His comments, delivered to reporters aboard his Canberra-bound Air Force One airplane, came after North Korea rejected a US offer of a multilateral security guarantee in exchange for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
The United States is working with China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, its partners in efforts to defuse the year-long atomic crisis, on the format for any such guarantees.
Pyongyang is "trying to stand up to the five nations that are now united in convincing North Korea to disarm, and my only reaction is we'll continue to send a very clear message to the North Koreans," Bush said.
"This requires a degree of patience," the President said. "He wanted to have dialogue, we're having dialogue."
"He wanted a security agreement, and we're willing to advance a multiparty security agreement, assuming that he is willing to abandon his nuclear weapons designs and programs. And we'll just stay the course," he said.
Bureau Report
His comments, delivered to reporters aboard his Canberra-bound Air Force One airplane, came after North Korea rejected a US offer of a multilateral security guarantee in exchange for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
The United States is working with China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, its partners in efforts to defuse the year-long atomic crisis, on the format for any such guarantees.
Pyongyang is "trying to stand up to the five nations that are now united in convincing North Korea to disarm, and my only reaction is we'll continue to send a very clear message to the North Koreans," Bush said.
"This requires a degree of patience," the President said. "He wanted to have dialogue, we're having dialogue."
"He wanted a security agreement, and we're willing to advance a multiparty security agreement, assuming that he is willing to abandon his nuclear weapons designs and programs. And we'll just stay the course," he said.
Bureau Report