U.S. Accused of Escalating Military Tension in Korea

8 October 2008

Pyongyang, North Korea-On September 23 the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a "bill on closer U.S.-south Korea defense cooperation" the keynote of which is to raise south Korea's status in purchasing U.S.-made weapons and military equipment to that of NATO. In its wake the U.S. Senate passed the similar bill.

Rodong Sinmun Wednesday in a signed commentary carried in this regard observes:

U.S. Congress's adoption of the above-said bill betrays a sinister intention to round off the preparations for the second Korean war and reinforce the "military alliance" between the U.S. and south Korea.

This is a criminal act of escalating the tension and military stand-off on the Korean Peninsula and seriously jeopardizing peace.

It is the intention of the U.S. to effectively use the south Korean puppets in a war anytime, keeping them as a faithful "military ally" in carrying out its anti-DPRK strategy and servants for aggression.

The U.S. seeks to retain an unchallenged military and strategic edge in Asia as it attaches key importance to establishing unchallenged domination over it in a bid to put its strategy for global domination into practice. It is the strategic scenario of the U.S. to set up a new "security mechanism" of NATO type in Asia and contain the DPRK and put the rest of Asia under its military control using it as a lever.

Now is the time for the DPRK and the U.S. to promote a climate of bilateral confidence and detente. This notwithstanding, the U.S. is busy coiling up the military tension and increasing the danger of war on the peninsula as evidenced by the legal action taken by it to "boost the defense cooperation" with south Korea in an effort to stifle the DPRK. This is an action against peace as it is quite contrary to the trend of the times.

The U.S. would be well advised to give up its reckless military scenario, cogitating about the ensuing consequences.

North Korea says U.S. hampering nuclear disarmament

18 August 2008

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea accused the United States on Monday of using human rights to block progress in a six-nation agreement on eliminating nuclear weapons in the communist country.

U.S. President George W. Bush "blustered that he would handle the 'human rights issue' as 'an element for negotiations with North Korea,"' the official Korean Central News Agency said, referring to comments made by Bush during his recent visit to Asia.

"We categorically dismiss this as a premeditated act of the U.S. to deliberately throw a hurdle in the process of the six-party talks" and avoid implementing key points of a disarmament deal, KCNA said.

In the disarmament pact, North Korea pledged to disable its nuclear facilities and fully declare its nuclear programs by the end of last year in exchange for energy aid and political concessions, including its removal from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

In June, North Korea demolished its nuclear reactor's cooling tower and submitted its long-delayed nuclear declaration. But Washington has said it will only remove North Korea from the terror list when it has agreed to a full nuclear verification plan.

Bush, in South Korea earlier this month, commented on human rights in North Korea at a news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

"The human rights abuses inside the country still exist and persist," Bush said.

KCNA accused the U.S. of raising the human rights issue to shift the blame to North Korea for not removing it from the terror list.

The deal was concluded last year by China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States, which have engaged in talks since 2003.

The report came as South Korea's No. 2 nuclear negotiator, Hwang Joon-kook, met Monday with Sung Kim, the State Department's top Korea expert, to discuss verification and other pending issues in the disarmament process.

Hwang declined to elaborate.

Further Reading:
South Korea, U.S. start military drills, irking North

U.S. President Bush With Prime Minister Fukuda of Japan

U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan enter the Banquet Lobby at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa Sunday, July, 6, 2008, for a joint press availability. The President and Mrs. Laura Bush arrived in Toyako on the northern Japanese Island of Hokkaido to attend the Group of Eight Summit.

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 6, 2008

Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa
Toyako, Japan

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: (As translated.) We had a very substantive meeting with President Bush for about an hour. In the meeting, we first shared the view that peace and stability in this region in the past decades have been maintained, thanks to the Japan-U.S. alliance. We then reaffirmed that in the seven and a half years or so since the inauguration of the Bush administration in January of 2001, the alliance has deepened by leaps and bounds in security, economic, people-to-people exchanges, and other areas. And we agreed to further strengthen this alliance.

In the security area, cooperation between Japan and the United States grew more concrete, substantive and broader in nature, as exemplified by the cooperation in the fight against terrorism and assistance for Iraqi reconstruction following 9/11, the agreement on and steady implementation of a road map for U.S. forces realignment, and the joint development of ballistic missile and successful intercept tests.

On North Korean issues, I told President Bush that the verification of their declaration is extremely important to realize complete nuclear abandonment by North Korea; that simultaneous settlement of denuclearization and the abduction issue will be important; and that to that end, Japan wishes to continue to cooperate closely with the United States. And President Bush concurred with me and told me that he will never forget the abduction issue.

I was encouraged to hear from him that the U.S. position on the abduction issue -- that is to say a clear-cut support for Japanese position -- remains unchanged, and that the United States will remain in close coordination with Japan on the issue. As agreed between us on the nuclear and abduction issues, we shall continue to deal with the issue, maintaining close coordination between our two countries.

On the economic aspects, the interdependence between Japan and the United States has grown closer than before. Since 2000, Japanese direct investment to the United States has increased approximately 30 percent; Japanese businesses in the United States have about 610,000 people on their payrolls. And U.S. direct investment in Japan also has increased approximately 60 percent.

I wish to also point out that mutual understanding between our countries has reached a high level at the grassroots level. I shall make sure to follow up the initiative I announced during my visit to the United States last year to step up Japan-U.S. exchanges so that the foundation for our alliance will become unshakeable.

In order to further deepen this alliance, I explained to President Bush my belief that it will be important to further step up policy coordination in Asia and bilateral cooperation in addressing global challenges, such as climate change, African development, and disaster reduction. And President Bush expressed his agreement on this.

On African development, we agreed that we should further step up our bilateral cooperation to increase the production of major crops in Africa, including doubling of rice production, and to promote their trade and distribution. On disaster reduction, following the recent spate of several natural -- severe natural disasters in Asia in recent years, I wish to step up cooperation between our two countries to build up cooperation in Asia on disaster prevention.

On climate change, we also had discussions and we have a common understanding that is our common responsibility to leave the beautiful Earth to our posterity since this -- climate change is one of the most severe challenges that humankind faces today, and that we shall continue to cooperate with the G8. And with regard to soaring food and oil prices, which are having negative impact on the world economy, we agreed there's a need for expeditious efforts on these fronts.

President Bush, please.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your hospitality, and thank you for inviting us to this beautiful place. Laura and I are really looking forward to dinner with you and Mrs. Fukuda tonight. And I agree with your assessment that we had very important and fruitful discussions.

We discussed a variety of subjects, starting with the -- our work together to make sure the Korean Peninsula, all the Korean Peninsula, is free of nuclear weapons. I am fully aware of the sensitivity of the issue here in your country. I am aware that people want to make sure that the abduction issue is not ignored, and that there are suspicions about whether or not the North Koreans will be fully forthcoming. I view this process as a multi-step process that requires strong verification.

One thing is for certain, is that North Korea did provide a declaration of its plutonium-related activities and did blow up the cooling tower of its reactor at Yongbyon. That's been verified, and that also is a positive step. But there are more steps to be taken. We are concerned about enriched uranium, and proliferation, and human rights abuses, ballistic missile programs. I view this process as a multi-step process where there will be action for action.

The Prime Minister gave me the book of Ms. Yokota. I had the privilege of meeting her in the Oval Office. I was deeply touched by her story about the abduction of her little girl. As a father of little girls, I can't imagine what it would be like to have my daughter just disappear. So, Mr. Prime Minister, as I told you on the phone when I talked to you and in the past, the United States will not abandon you on this issue.

We worked -- we talked about Japan's contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I thank your government and I thank the people of Japan for helping others realize the blessings of liberty. We talked about Iran and the importance of Iran to listen to the demands, the just demands of the world to verifiably suspend its enrichment programs.

We haven't had a chance to talk about Burma yet, but I intend to bring it up with the Prime Minister. I'm deeply concerned about that country. Their response to the recent natural disaster was unwarranted, at best. And we urge the regime to free Aung Suu -- Aung San Suu Kyi.

We talked about the G8, and I believe this is going to be a successful G8, Mr. Prime Minister. This is my eighth one. I've got a pretty good sense about whether or not a G8 is going to be a success or maybe not such a success. This one is going to be a success.

We've got a lot to talk about. I appreciate very much your strong belief in the accountability aspect of this meeting. In other words, when people say they're -- make a pledge to feed the hungry or provide for the ill, that we ought to honor that pledge. And I thank you for understanding that. And I also thank you for your concern about neglected tropical diseases, as well as helping train health workers in Africa so that they can be compassionate citizens of their respective countries.

We'll talk about food and energy, of course. And then I've got two other subjects that I want to make sure we spend a fair amount of time on. One is the Doha Round. It's an opportunity for us, Mr. Prime Minister, to promote free and fair trade, and it's going to be an essential part of the development agenda. And the truth of the matter is, we can give grants, but the best way to help the impoverished around the world is through trade. It's a proven fact. And this is an opportunity to set up a successful ministerial in July -- I think it's July 21st for the Doha Round.

And then I'm going to spend some time, of course, sharing my views about the environment and how we can advance our common agenda, and that -- remind people that the United States and Japan really do lead the world in research when it comes to clean technologies.

I think I was sharing my views with some of the Japanese press when they were in the United States, Mr. Prime Minister, about how Japan is going to lead the world when it comes to battery technologies, and that I anticipate our country will be able to be using battery technologies in automobiles that look like cars, not golf carts, and which will save us a lot of -- a lot of, you know, reliance upon oil. And this will be a great opportunity to discuss that, as well as our common desire to move our common agenda.

And so I want to thank you very much for your hospitality and I appreciate very much your candid discussion that we had.

Q Both of you have commented on global warming, and so I'd like to ask about that to both of you. First, Prime Minister Fukuda, were you successful in getting President Bush's agreement to cooperate -- to get a G8 agreement on long-term target to have greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 globally?

So first that question. And second question for President Bush. Mr. President, you've been saying that participation of China and India, among others, will be essential for a long-term target. Do you think that -- are going to cooperate on getting a G8 agreement on long-term target this time? And also, as for assistance for African countries that are suffering from negative impact of global warming, I wonder what thoughts you have, President Bush.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Allow me to first respond. As I said earlier on the global warming issue, including long-term targets, I agreed with President Bush to continue to cooperate in the run-up to the G8. On whether G8 will agree on long-term target or not, that is something that G8 is continuing consultations. So at this stage what I wish to say is that we leaders will get down to in-depth discussions on this day after tomorrow.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'll be constructive. I've always advocated that there needs to be a common understanding, and that starts with a goal. And I also am realistic enough to tell you that if China and India don't share that same aspiration, that we're not going to solve the problem.

And so I appreciate the Prime Minister's leadership on this issue. And the United States will -- we're working, working to see if we can come up with a constructive -- constructive statement.

I didn't get your question on Africa. What was the question on Africa? Ask it again, please.

Q Well, I wanted to ask for your thoughts, your views on support for Africa, which will be negatively affected by global warming. Do you have any plans for supporting Africa?

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- starts with understanding that babies are needlessly dying because of mosquito bites, and therefore, wealthy nations ought to step up and provide mosquito nets, DDT, as well as medicine. My concern for Africa starts with knowing that too many people are dying of HIV/AIDS. And that's why the United States Congress joined the administration in supporting a $15 billion effort to help people get anti-retroviral drugs, help orphans get help, and help put a effective prevention program in place. The amount -- number of people who have gone on anti-retrovirals today has grown from 50,000 to 1.7 million people.

I'm concerned about people going hungry. And so we'll be very constructive in the dialogue when it comes to the environment. I care about the environment. But today there's too much suffering on the continent of Africa, and now is the time for the comfortable nations to step up and do something about it.

Q Thank you. Mr. President, oil prices are up. The economy is in a serious downturn. What can world leaders do? And would you approve of intervention to strengthen the U.S. dollar, which many people say is contributing to the rise in oil prices?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, do you believe that the U.S. is holding up moving forward on climate change?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First of all, our economy is not growing as robustly as we'd like. We had positive growth in the first quarter. We'll see what happens here in the second quarter. But nevertheless, we're not as strong as we have been during a lot of my presidency. And so, as you well know, Toby, we passed a stimulus bill that is now in the process of passing money back to consumers, which had a positive effect, and hopefully will continue to have a positive effect.

We'll work with the Congress to get a housing bill out. We're -- we passed uninsurance benefits -- unemployment benefits -- excuse me. And yet we got a problem when it comes to reliance upon foreign sources of oil. For seven years I've been trying to get the Congress to explore for oil domestically. Now is the time, when they come back from their 4th of July vacations, to open up ANWR and open up the Outer Continental Shelf, so that we can say to the world that we will do our part in increasing supply, so that we can transition from this period of reliance upon hydrocarbons to a new period of advanced technologies.

In terms of the dollar, the United States strongly believes -- believes in a strong dollar policy and believes that our -- the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar.

Q -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I just said the relative strength of our economy will be reflected in currencies.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: With regard to global warming or climate change, the question was how do I see U.S. response. Is that a correct understanding of your question? Well, between Japan and the United States, discussions are -- been going on at various levels. The U.S. I believe has not really lost a sense of direction, generally, and that between our two countries we have consultations going on. And through these consultations, I think our views are gradually converging.

At the G8 this time, well, I'll be chairing the meeting, so I've asked the President for his cooperation to this chair and he has shown his kind understanding. What the results will be, well, we have to wait until the conclusion comes out at the meeting the day after tomorrow.

Q On North Korea, I'd like to ask questions of the two leaders. First, President Bush. North Korea recently submitted their declaration on nuclear development programs, but that declaration did not include a declaration regarding nuclear weapons. Are you satisfied with that sort of declaration, Mr. President? And also in connection with this -- or in connection with the declaration, Mr. President, you decided to notify Congress about removing North Korea from the status of state sponsor of terrorism list. There is rising concern about abduction in Japan. You said you will not forget about abduction, but would there be -- after removal of North Korea from the list, what sort of means will there remain for the United States to press North Korea to resolve the abduction issue?

Now, Mr. Fukuda, I wonder in your discussions you asked the President to rethink the President's decision to remove North Korea from the list. If not, why didn't you ask? Now, following the removal of North Korea from the list, what sort of specific cooperation would you seek from the United States to advance the abduction issue?

PRESIDENT BUSH: North Korea is the most sanctioned nation in the world, and will remain the most sanctioned nation in the world. And the way for them to get off their sanctions is to honor their commitments in a verifiable fashion.

Somehow there's this notion -- inherent in your question is the delisting therefore took away their sanctions. That's just not an accurate statement on your part -- if you think that -- I'm not assuming you do think that, but -- they're a highly sanctioned regime. And as I said, they've got a lot of obligations that they must fulfill in order for these sanctions to leave.

And that's why I said it is action for action. And the first step was taken. Now, one thing is for certain, I repeat -- I don't know if you saw it on your -- on the TVs here, but the destruction of the cooling tower was verifiable action. And that's a positive step. But as I mentioned in my opening statement, we have other concerns, and one such concern, of course, is the abduction issue.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Well, the North Korean declaration on their nuclear programs -- well, when you think about the abduction issue, I think the suggestion of your question, what you were suggesting is that we should seek U.S. to rescind that decision. Well, as far as nuclear issue is concerned, well, we have moved on to a new phase, and I think we need to make sure this will be successful, because it will be in the interest of Japan, as well. At the same time, in parallel, we need to bring the abduction issue to successful conclusion, as well.

So against this backdrop of progress in the nuclear front, we need to also strive for progress on the abduction front, as well. And to that end, we need to have good-faith discussions with North Korea. So far we have not seen any progress, but we need to engage in negotiations so that progress will be produced. Because abduction is not progressing, on the nuclear front we should not make progress -- that is something we should not -- we should avoid, and I believe we need to make progress on both fronts, because that will be important for Japan, and I think that will be necessary for North Korea, as well.

Time is pressing now. Last question from the U.S. side, please.

Q Good afternoon. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you a question about China. I was wondering if you could, first of all, explain a little bit about your thinking behind your decision to attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics next month. And more generally, I'm wondering what you would say to the -- your friends and allies in the United States who are very concerned about religious freedom and human rights in China, the situation in Sudan and Burma -- what would you say to them of what has come from your approach to dealing with President Hu over the last seven years.

And I'd also like to ask the Japanese Prime Minister whether you're paying close attention to the American election? And in particular, I'm curious if you can discern any differences right now between the two candidates as it relates to Japan, in particular, and more broadly in terms of how they would approach Asia.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I view the Olympics as a opportunity for me to cheer on our athletes. It's an athletic event. I had the honor of dealing with the Chinese -- two Chinese Presidents during my term, and every time I have visited with them I have talked about religious freedom and human rights. And so, therefore, my decision to go was -- I guess I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so.

I also believe that the Chinese people are watching very carefully about the decisions by world leaders, and that this -- I happen to believe not going to the opening games would be -- the Opening Ceremony for the Games would be an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to have a -- to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. And I'm looking forward to cheering the athletes. I think it will be -- I think it would be good for these athletes who have worked hard to see their President waving that flag.

Q -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, in some areas we've made progress on a common agenda; other areas we haven't. But nevertheless, I have been very clear in my view that, for example, a whole society is one that honors religion, and that people shouldn't fear religious people. After all, truly religious people love their neighbor, and that China benefits from people being able to worship freely.

It looks like there's some progress, at least in the talks with the Dalai Lama. And by the way, as you know, I'm the first President ever to have stood up publicly with the Dalai Lama, and told President Hu Jintao I was going to. And he wasn't that pleased about it, but nevertheless, I said I believe in a religious freedom, Mr. President.

And so it's -- and I hope I have a bilateral -- I might have a bilateral with him here, and I bet I do when I'm in Beijing, as well, and, of course, the subject will come up.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Well, your question for me, was it along the same line, as well? Well, and if that is the case -- well, I -- whether I'll attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games or not, I have not made any official announcement on this because the day after the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, there is an important event in Japan and I have to attend that important ceremony, and therefore -- or event -- therefore, I really have to make sure I would have time to get back for that. Now I know that I'll able to get back in time. So here for the first time, I will announce that I -- announce officially that I will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.

Now -- and, in fact, the President said something to the same effect, that Olympics are a sport events and we want people to really live up to the spirit of the sports, sportsmanship. And I certainly encourage that. And there are many aspiring athletes that will be going to Beijing, and I would like to cheer them on, too, which I think is only natural. I don't think you really have to link Olympics to politics.

Now, there certainly may be problems with China, but even so, they are striving to improve things. They're on the way to improve things, and we'd like to closely watch how they do. In the past, Japan has come through various experiences, and the U.S. and others criticized Japan for certain behaviors. So we have had experience in that reality, and we are now here today. So we really have to be -- have humility in asking ourselves, do we have the right to make those points to China and others.

Now, I would not hope that there will be chaos in China. I would not want Chinese to become unhappy. We are neighbors, after all, and it will good for Japan if our neighbors are in a sound state, as well. So with that in mind, as well, I shall attend the Opening Ceremony.

MODERATOR: It's time, so we'd like to conclude the press conference at this time.

END

________

Commentary

With no disrespect to Prime Minister Fukuda of Japan, but to the contrary, very honorable, great respect to him and the Japanese people.

Every time Bush makes a trip abroad the speeches among dignitaries are always predictable and from my understanding, it is because of the mannerism in which Bush treats dignitaries in other countries; which is actually very poor and very disrespectable to the governments of the world, it has been reported.

While people in the world many not always agree with each other, one thing one should always do, is be respectful not to just the people; but there culture which apparently, Bush has never learned away from the media.

Furthermore, Bush also is not in touch with the American people, anymore then he knows about the different countries of the world.

Personally, the Japanese culture, especially in there generations of customs, arts and gardens, I have found very beautiful; I wish I knew more of the beauty of Japan. Also, at different times in my life, I have met people from Japan, which has always made me very happy.

Bush Eyes Asia

U.S. President George W. Bush delivers a statement on North Korea Thursday, June 26, 2008, in the Rose Garden of the White House. Said the President, "The policy of the United States is a Korean Peninsula free of all nuclear weapons. This morning, we moved a step closer to that goal, when North Korean officials submitted a declaration of their nuclear programs to the Chinese government as part of the six-party talks."


U.S. President George W. Bush has eyes towards Asia with his pressure enhanced policing foreign policies.


Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

President Bush Discusses North Korea

Bush illegally in UK against Queen’s Wishes

U.S. President George W. Bush holds talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at No. 10 Downing Street.

It was reported, that Bush is still in the UK against HRM Elizabeth II wishes, for she requested him to leave the country, yesterday.

Queen Elizabeth II did not approve of Bush’s foreign policy towards Palestine and his continuous insults towards Queen Deborah of Palestine.

In the Press conference below, one will not find any reference to Bush’s ideals against the country of Palestine nor the monarchy, which is the legal representative of Palestinian government.

U.S. President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with United Kingdom Prime Minister Brown

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

June 16, 2008

Foreign & Commonwealth Office Building -- Lacarno Treaty Room
London, England

PRIME MINISTER BROWN: I'm delighted to welcome President Bush and the First Lady back to London. And his visit today is an opportunity to celebrate the historic partnership of shared purpose that unites the United Kingdom and the United States of America. We both share a great love of history and about how we have forged the ideas of democracy and liberty over centuries. And the special partnership that President Bush and I both agree today is a partnership not just of governments but of peoples is driven forward not simply by mutual interests, but by our shared values: both countries founded upon liberty, our histories forged through democracy, our shared values expressed by a commitment to opportunity for all, putting into practice what Churchill called the "joint inheritance of the English speaking world."

So let me thank President Bush for being a true friend of Britain and for the importance he attaches to enhancing our transatlantic partnership, from the work we do in Afghanistan and Iraq to every part of the world. And let me thank him for the steadfastness and the resolution that he has shown in rooting out terrorism in all parts of the world; in working for a Middle East peace settlement; in bringing hope to Africa; in working for a free trade world, where in spite of today's difficulties with oil and food prices, there is and should be a wider and deeper prosperity in the future for all.

Now in our substantive and wide-ranging talks last night and this morning, the President and I have discussed a number of central issues. We have discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions. We have discussed Iraq and Afghanistan, where our forces are working side by side. We have discussed the criminal cabal that now threatens to make a mockery of free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. We have discussed what we can do about democracy in Burma.

We have resolved, first of all, as we did some years ago, that it is in the British national interest to confront the Taliban in Afghanistan or Afghanistan would come to us. And so today Britain will announce additional troops for Afghanistan, bringing our numbers in Afghanistan to the highest level. And let me thank our troops, and the troops of America and 42 other countries who are in Afghanistan, as I thank our forces in Iraq for their courage and for their professionalism. And let me acknowledge the bravery of the five members of the 2nd paratroop regiment, British men who have in the last few days sacrificed their lives for freedom. Eighteen months ago, the Taliban boasted that they and their paid foreign fighters would drive our forces out of southern Helmand. Now most agree that security is on the way to being transformed. Last week in Paris a total of 80 countries pledged $20 billions, with nearly a billion from the United Kingdom to support the Afghan National Development Strategy.

Our aim is to generate progress, where the fourth poorest country in the world, laid low by decades of conflict, can as a democracy enjoy peaceful social and economic development, with our forces, over time, moving from a direct combat role to train and support Afghanistan's own army and police.

In Iraq, there is still work to be done, and Britain is playing and will continue to play its part. Where we have over 4,000 troops in Basra, we will continue the shared policy of Iraqis taking more control over their own affairs, moving from combat to overwatching Basra. Our policy is showing success as we continue the task we have set ourselves: strong and well-trained Iraqi forces capable of securing the peace, firm commitments to new local government elections soon, and speeding up the social and economic development of Iraq so that people have a stake in the future.

Our message today to the Iranian people is that you do not have to choose the path of confrontation. The latest rounds of talks with the Iranians took place over the weekend. Once again, we put our enhanced offer on the table, including political and economic partnership, and help with nuclear technology for civilian use. We await the Iranian response and we'll do everything possible to maintain the dialogue. But we are also clear that if Iran continues to ignore united resolutions, to ignore our offers of partnership, we have no choice but to intensify sanctions. And so today Britain will urge Europe and Europe will agree to take further sanctions against Iran.

First of all, we will take action today that will freeze the overseas assets of the biggest bank in Iran, the bank Melli.

And second, action will start today for a new phase of sanctions on oil and gas. And I will repeat that we will take any necessary actions so that Iran is aware of the choice it has to make: to start to play its part as a full and respected member of the international community or face further isolation.

We discussed the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe. In recent weeks, under Robert Mugabe's increasingly desperate and criminal regime, Zimbabwe has seen 53 killings, 2,000 beatings, the displacement of 30,000 people, the arrest and detention of opposition leaders, including Morgan Tsvangirai, and this is wholly unacceptable. Mugabe must not be allowed to steal the election that is now less than two weeks away. And that is why we call for Zimbabwe to accept a United Nations human rights envoy to visit Zimbabwe now, and to accept the international monitors from all parts of the world who are available to ensure that this is a free and fair election.

We agreed that at the G8 in Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.A. would propose a plan to recruit and train health workers for the poorest countries. To save the lives of mothers who needlessly die in childbirth, we are developing proposals to tackle the diseases that bring needless death and suffering, including malaria, AIDS, and neglected tropical diseases. And we agreed also to work together to ensure G8 commitment to scale up funding on education and get the remaining 72 million children who do not go to school today into school.

The world oil prices trebled in recent months. In the right of this, I welcome Saudi Arabia's initiative to host a producer-consumer summit in Jeddah on the 22nd of June. And we will all work together to ensure an enhanced dialogue between oil producers and consumers.

And the President and I also agreed that over the next few weeks we need to press hard to achieve a world trade deal. Both of us are ensured that this could unlock new opportunities for the world economy. It would also help reduce high global food prices.

Finally, we go from here to Northern Ireland. The United States has played an essential role in securing peace in Northern Ireland and helping the people of Northern Ireland move away from conflict to potentially a new prosperity. And I want to thank President Bush for his personal efforts to speed up the Northern Ireland peace process, and to make sure that there is investment in Northern Ireland, not just from the rest of the United Kingdom, but from America.

And I thank him for his work to ensure that the recent investment conference in Northern Ireland was a huge success, and there will be further announcements of jobs in Northern Ireland today. America has played a huge role in this peace process, and President Bush is to be thanked by all the people of the United Kingdom for what he has done.

So, Mr. President, I thank you again for your friendship, for your leadership, for your commitment to us continuing to work together to solve the challenges facing the world. I'm pleased you're here. I value the gains we've made together, and I look forward to our continued friendship.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. And I thank you very much for your friendship, thank you for your hospitality. This is -- this has been a good trip. By the way, some are speculating this is my last trip. Let them speculate. Who knows? (Laughter.) But it's been a -- we had a great dinner last night. I want to thank you and Sarah. And thanks for calling together the historians. It's a -- you know, Great Britain has produced great historians. And I am -- I love reading a lot of their works, and it was so kind of you to have them over. And the food was good, too. (Laughter.)

And also we had a great visit yesterday. Laura and I went to see Her Majesty, the Queen. I thank her for her hospitality. And then yesterday at the embassy, thanks to our Ambassador, I had the opportunity to speak to some of your soldiers. And I was -- listened to their stories of courage and bravery and sacrifice, and it was so -- really touching. And I really appreciate the British people supporting the people who wear the uniform. And I am looking forward to going to Northern Ireland this evening. You've taken the lead. We're just pleased to help. And hopefully this visit will help keep the process moving.

First thing about Gordon Brown, he's tough on terror, and I appreciate it -- and so should the people of Great Britain and the world. He fully understands that while some want to say that the terrorist threat is gone or there's nothing to worry about, it is something to worry about. And he was -- you were tested early in your Prime Ministership. You dealt with the challenge. And I appreciate your continued focus and your understanding that we've got to work together to protect our people, and your understanding that freedom is transformative, and the ultimate way to succeed against these extremists who use murder as a way to achieve their political objectives is to marginalize them through the advance of liberty.

And that's what we're doing in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. And it is tough work. It's hard to take a society that had been ravished [sic] by brutality and convince people to take the risk necessary to work for civil society and freedom for women and to educate their children. But I believe it's necessary work, for the sake of peace and for our security. And I believe it's in the moral interests of comfortable nations to help others realize the blessings of liberty. Oh, for some that sounds like hopeless idealism; for those of us involved with making public policy necessary to protect our people, it is the only realistic way to guarantee the peace for our people.

And so you've been strong on Afghanistan and Iraq, and I appreciate it. But more importantly, the people of Afghanistan and Iraq appreciate it. The march to democracy is never smooth. We've had our own history. America is viewed as a great democracy; just remember, many of our citizens were enslaved for a long period of time before we finally got it right.

But it's in our interests to help these folks. It's in our interests little girls go to school in Afghanistan. It's in our interests that there be free elections in Iraq. And it's in our interests that we help these governments survive. And it's taken sacrifice from our people, I understand that. The fundamental question of history is going to look back on it, is did we understand the duty that we've been called to do, to protect ourselves and hope others? And this Prime Minister has understood the duty.

No, I know there's a lot of discussion here in the British press about, well, you know, is there going to be enough troops, or not enough troops, and all that business; is he trying to distance this, that and the other -- it's just typical. But I just want to remind you that he has left more troops in Iraq than initially anticipated. And like me, we'll be making our decisions based upon the conditions on the ground, the recommendation of our commanders, without an artificial timetable set by politics.

I thank you for your troop announcement today in Afghanistan, as well. Then you issued a strong statement on Iran. It was a clear statement, and it was a strong statement, and it was a necessary statement, because the free world has an obligation to work together in concert to prevent the Iranians from having the know-how to develop a nuclear weapon. And now is the time to work together to get it done, and I appreciate your statement. Hopefully the Iranian leadership will take a different position then the one they've taken in the past, which is basically, who cares what the free world says, we're going to -- we'll go our own way. And now has faced -- they face serious isolation, and the people who are suffering are the Iranian people. We have no qualms with the Iranian people. As a matter of fact, we want the Iranian people to thrive. It's in our interests that there be a hopeful society. It's their government who has denied them their rightful place in the world.

And so I want to thank you very much for working hard to, you know, to help keep this coalition together to provide pressure necessary so we can solve the problem diplomatically. That's my first choice. Iranians must understand all options are on the table, however.

Thank you for your strong words on Zimbabwe. And I -- you know, you obviously are emotional on the subject and I don't blame you, because the people of Zimbabwe have suffered under Mugabe leadership, and we will work with you to ensure these good folks have free and fair elections to the extent -- best extent possible, which obviously Mr. Mugabe does not want to have.

We talked about Darfur. We talked about Burma. I strongly support your health care worker initiative. I'm looking forward to going to the G8 to articulate that. And we expect the people of the G8 -- the leaders of the G8 countries to fulfill their obligations, because last year we met and we had a -- we discussed a lot of issues, including HIV/AIDS and malaria on the continent of Africa, and they all came forth and said, we'll match the United States -- except most nations haven't matched the United States to date except for Great Britain, and they haven't done their part in matching the United States.

And so my message at the G8 is: Looking forward to working with you; thanks for coming to the meeting -- just remember, there are people needlessly dying on the continent of Africa today, and we expect you to be more than pledge-makers. We expect you to be check-writers for humanitarian reasons.

We did talk about energy and Doha. I'm concerned about Doha. I'm concerned that while we're making some progress on the agricultural side, that nations such as Brazil and India and China are not making corresponding openings on manufacturing and service -- and the service sector on their part. And in order to have a successful round, which I believe is essential -- and so does Gordon -- to fight off protectionism and help poor nations develop, that now is the time to get a Doha Round completed. And in order to do so, there has to be more movement on the manufacturing and service sector so there can be a fair and equitable deal.

Finally, we talked about global climate change and briefed Gordon on our strategy for the major economies meeting to hopefully reach an international goal for 2050 that will have intermediate strategies that are binding on each nation within the U.N. framework. And the reason why I believe this is the right approach to take, that unless China and India are a part of a binding international agreement -- and the United States -- then we will not have effective policy in dealing with climate change. It might make us all feel good, but the results won't be satisfactory. And so hopefully in Seoul, South Korea coming up there will be a major economy meeting agreement on a long-term goal with binding commitments.

Mr. Prime Minister, all in all, it's been a great meeting. Thank you for the conversation and thank you for your friendship.

PRIME MINISTER BROWN: Thank you.

Q Nick Robinson, BBC News.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Who? (Inaudible.) (Laughter.)

Q Good to have you here.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Missed the hat. (Laughter.)

Q Prime Minister, isn't it time to withdraw British troops from Iraq in order to send them where the military really needs them, to Afghanistan, or are you too worried about his reaction if you do?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We miss you, Nick, we miss you, buddy.

Q Are you prepared to see British troop withdrawn from Iraq while you're still in office, or are you concerned about the symbolic significance of that?

PRIME MINISTER BROWN: Can I just say that in Iraq there is a job to be done and we will continue to do the job, and there's going to be no artificial timetable. And the reason is that we are making progress -- making progress in the Iraqis themselves being trained up to run the (inaudible) forces, and of course to be the police men and women in their areas. And we're making progress also because we hope local government elections will happen later this year. We hope to return the airport that we are responsible for in Basra to civilian use, as well. And most of all, in the next stage, we want to see the economic and social development of Basra and the southern part of Iraq proceed, so that people have a stake in the future.

So, yes, we are moving from what we call "combat" to "overwatch", and that's been announced many months ago -- yes, as a result of what happened in Basra a few months ago we have kept higher the level of troops that are necessary, but yes, also, we have a job that's still to be done. And that job is to train up the forces, that job is to speed up economic and social development, and that job is to have local government elections so that Iraqis can take control of their own democracy. And I'm determined that we continue to do that job.

And that will happen not at the cost of lesser troops for Afghanistan, but with more troops going to Afghanistan. The Defense Secretary will announce later this afternoon that we will send more troops to Afghanistan. The reason is that we want to help the Afghans train up their own army and their own police forces, and the reason is we want to have better equipment in Iraq -- in Afghanistan in future; and therefore there's going to be a reconfiguration of our troops, with some coming out and some more going in, and that an overall increase in the numbers so that we will have the highest level of troops in Afghanistan. You cannot trade numbers between the two countries.

There is a job to do in Iraq, and I've described it. And there is a job to do in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do it. And the fact that 43 countries are helping us in Afghanistan and 80 countries are supporting the economic and social development of Afghanistan shows how in this country, which is one of the poorest in the world, we are trying to make progress more quickly. So the announcement will come later today from the Defense Secretary.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We're withdrawing troops. We anticipate the 30,000 surge troops will be coming home by July -- more or less, 30,000. And so the plan is, bring them home based upon success. That's what we expect the British Prime Minister to do. That's what I'm doing -- that as the Iraqis are trained up, as they're taking more responsibility, as the security situations decline, as the economy is improved, as political reconciliation is taking place, we can bring more troops home. That's the whole purpose of the strategy. And so, give the Iraqis more responsibility. Let them take more -- be in more charge of their own security and their own government, and that's what's happening.

And so, you know, I mean -- look, the key thing for me is that I have -- you know, is that Gordon shares with me his plans. He listens to -- he talks to his commanders and he picks up the phone and says, here's what we're thinking. So there's no surprises. And as I said yesterday on TV here, I have no problem with how Gordon Brown is dealing with Iraq. He's been a good partner and -- but, as I told you, we're bringing ours home, too.

Q Mr. President, I'd like to ask you about recent events along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Do you back President Karzai when he says he may send his troops into Pakistan to take care of some of the militants who are launching attacks on his territory? And do you think that the agreements that the new government of Pakistan is pursuing with some of the militant tribes in that area amount to the sort of appeasement that you talked about in your speech last month?

And Mr. Prime Minister, I'd like to ask you about the meeting, upcoming meeting, in Saudi Arabia. What do you expect to come out of that meeting? And do you think it would be helpful if your friend there standing there, Mr. Bush, were to see you in Jeddah at that meeting?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Our strategy is to deny safe haven to extremists who would do harm to innocent people. And that's the strategy of Afghanistan; it needs to be the strategy of Pakistan. It's in all our interests to prevent those who murder innocent people to achieve political objectives to gain safe haven.

And so we'd look forward to working -- I mean, one thing that can happen is there can be, you know, more dialogue between the Pak government and the Afghan government. There was -- in the past they had a jirga amongst tribal leaders in the region on both -- from both sides of the border that made a difference. And I think that would be a good idea to restart the jirga process.

I know there needs to be dialogue between the intel services between the respective countries. And I know there needs to be better cooperation, and there needs to be trilateral cooperation on the border; trilateral being Pak, Afghan and coalition border patrols to prevent people from coming back and forth to cross the border.

And there's a lot of common ground. I repeat, it is no one's interest that extremists have a safe haven from which to operate. And I'm, you know -- and obviously it's a testy situation there. And if I'm the President of a country and people are coming from one country to another -- allegedly coming from one country to another -- to kill innocent civilians on my side, I'd be concerned about it. But we can help. We can help calm the situation down and develop a strategy that will prevent these extremists from, you know, from developing safe haven and having freedom of movement.

PRIME MINISTER BROWN: Can I say, I'm traveling to Jeddah next Sunday at the invitation of the King of Saudi Arabia. And I want a long-term dialogue, and this is part of a process, not an event, between oil producers and oil consumers. I think there is a view developing that the price of oil is increasingly dependent not just on today's demand and supply factors but on what people perceive as demand outstripping supply next year, in the medium term, and in the long term.

And I want to tell the King of Saudi Arabia and others who are there that the world will build more nuclear power. And I have suggested that on present trends it would be about a thousand nuclear power stations over the next 30 years. The world will increase its use of renewables. The world will increase its use of coal. It will lessen its dependence on oil, and that the world is determined to make a more efficient use of oil.

And I think this dialogue between producers and consumers is absolutely essential. President Bush has just been in Saudi Arabia. I have not been there recently. I want to go and talk to the King and talk to others there about what I believe should be a process whereby we understand what are the pressures on demand in future years, as well as we understand the pressures on supply. And I believe that that long-term debate about the future can have an effect on today's markets.

Now, that's what the debate is about, and that is part of a process that I hope will continue, if necessary, with a meeting in London later, and with further meetings so that there is a genuine dialogue between producers and consumers about what is the most worrying situation in the world at the moment, and that is the trebling of the price of oil.

Q Mr. President, in his last major speech, Tony Blair said on Iraq, "Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. But if I got it wrong, I'm sorry." Is it possible you got it wrong? Would you share at this point those slightly more reflective sentiments? And in particular, should you, in retrospect, perhaps have concentrated a little more on Afghanistan?

And could I ask the Prime Minister, is the Lisbon Treaty dead in the water now? And if so, what happens next for Europe?

PRESIDENT BUSH: History will judge the tactics. History will judge whether or not, you know, more troops were needed earlier, troops could have been positioned here better or not. Removing Saddam Hussein was not wrong. It was the right thing to do. Right thing to do for our security, right thing to do for peace, and the right thing to do for 25 million Iraqis. And now the fundamental question is will we have the willpower and the patience to help the Iraqis develop a democracy in the heart of the Middle East. It's a democracy that's not going to look like America, it's not going to look like Great Britain, but it's a democracy that will have government responsive to the people. People say, was that worth it, is it necessary. Absolutely it's necessary if you believe we're in an ideological war being -- the theaters of which right now, the most notable theaters are Afghanistan and Iraq.

The strategic implications of a free Iraq are significant for our future. For example, a free Iraq will make it easier to deal with the Iranian issue. A free Iraq will send a clear signal to reformers and dissidents, would-be journalists throughout the Middle East that a free society is available for you, as well. And the question facing the Western world is, will we fall prey to the argument that stability is more important than forms of government; that what appears to be stable and peaceful -- is that more important than how people live their lives, what kind of government? You just heard the Prime Minister speak eloquently about Zimbabwe. The lesson there is, forms of government matter.

Freedom has had a transformative effect in Europe, in the Far East. And the fundamental question is, will we work to see it have a transformative effect in the Middle East? Now, there are many doubters. I understand that, because there is some who say that perhaps freedom is not universal. Maybe it's only Western people that can self-govern. Maybe it's only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self government. I reject that notion. I think that's the ultimate form of political elitism, and I believe an accurate reading of history says that freedom can bring peace we want. And it'll bring peace to the Middle East, unless of course we become isolationist; unless of course we lose our confidence; unless of course we quit. And, so, yes, I'm sure there's people will say, they could have done things better here and there. But I'm absolutely confident that the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision.

PRIME MINISTER BROWN: And can I just emphasize, the passion for freedom I think is a universal value, and I believe that Iraq is a democracy today because of the action that we have taken. And our next task is to make sure that all Iraqis feel that they have an economic stake as well as a democratic stake in the future of the country. And that's why the work continues.

On Europe, I'll meet Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach of Ireland, when I'm in Belfast later today. The legal position on the European treaty is very clear, that all 27 members must sign and therefore ratify the treaty before it comes into force. It is for each member to decide its own process for doing so, and we will continue our process of debating this in the House of Lords, and then royal assent during the course of this week.

I think a short period of reflection is necessary for the Irish to put forward their proposals about how they will deal with this, and we look forward to the Irish coming to the European Council on Thursday with a view of what should be done. I believe that when David Miliband makes a statement to the House this afternoon following a meeting of the European foreign ministers, he will be able to say that all the European Union members believe that Ireland should be given this time to reflect on what they need to do, and then make their proposals about how the situation can be resolved.

Q Good morning, Mr. President, Prime Minister. I'd like to ask you both about Iran. President Bush, you've talked about it at every stop. A similar process, it seems, that is deterring North Korea from its nuclear ambitions has basically allowed North Korea [sic] to make progress toward nuclear weapons. At what point are you willing to draw a line here with Iran, and isn't Iran seemingly learning a lesson from the North Korea experience?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Ed, I just strongly disagree with your premise that the six-party talks has encouraged Iran to develop nuclear weapons. I don't know why you have even come to that conclusion, because the facts are the six-party talks is the only way to send a message to the North Koreans that the world isn't going to tolerate them having a weapon.

I mean, in other words, they are -- we'll see what they disclose, but we hopefully are in the process of disabling and dismantling their plutonium manufacturing. We're hopefully in the process of getting them to disclose what they have manufactured and eventually turning it over. We're hopefully in the process of disclosing their proliferation activities, and it's a six-party process. I mean, the only way, in my judgment, to diplomatically solve these kinds of problems with nations like Iran and North Korea, non-transparent nations, is through a multilateral process, where there's more than one nation sending the same message to the leaders of these respective countries.

And so I disagree with your premise. As a matter of fact, the Iranians must understand that when we come together and speak with one voice, we're serious. That's why the Prime Minister's statement was so powerful, and that's the lesson that the North Koreans are hearing. And so it's -- I said the other day that, you know, one of the things that I will leave behind is a multilateralism to deal with tyrants, so problems can be solved diplomatically.

And the difficulty, of course, is that sometimes economics and money trumps national security interests. So you go around asking nations -- by the way, it's not a problem for Great Britain -- so you say to your partners, don't sell goods; you know, let's send a focused message all aiming to create the conditions so that somebody rational shows up. In other words, people hopefully are sick of isolation in their respective countries, and they show up and say, we're tired of this; there's a better way forward.

And in order for that to be effective, Ed, there has to be more than one voice. So if I were the North Koreans and I were looking at Iran, or the Iranians looking at North Korea, I'd say, uh-oh, there are coalitions coming together that are bound tightly -- more tightly than ever in order to send us a focused message.

And, you know, let me just say one thing about the Iranian demand for civilian nuclear power. It's a justifiable demand. You just heard the Prime Minister talk about the spread of civilian nuclear power, which I support -- starting in my own country, by the way; we need to be building civilian nuclear power plants.

And so when the Iranians say, we have a sovereign right to have one, the answer is, you bet, you have a sovereign right, absolutely. But you don't have the trust of those of us who have watched you carefully when it comes to enriching uranium, because you have declared that you want to destroy democracies in the neighborhood, for example. Therefore -- and this is the Russian proposal, by the way -- therefore we'll provide fuel for you, and we'll collect the fuel after you've used it so you can have your nuclear -- civilian nuclear power, which undermines what the Iranians are saying, and that is, we must enrich in order to have civilian nuclear power. You don't need to enrich to have civilian nuclear power. The Russian proposal is what we support. This proposal wouldn't have happened had there not been a multilateral process.

And so what these nations need to see is we're serious about solving these problems. And the United States spends a lot of time working with our partners to get them solved.

Thank you very much.

PRIME MINISTER BROWN: Thank you all very much.

END

Syria: U.S. nuclear reactor allegations aim to create Mideast crisis

3 May 2008

By The Associated Press

GENEVA - Damascus on Friday accused the current U.S. administration of fabricating a report allegedly proving Syria had built a nuclear reactor in a plot to destabilize the region.

"U.S. allegations about the reactor were manufactured in order to create further crisis in the Middle East," Syrian Ambassador Faysal al-Hamoui told a conference on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in Geneva.

Earlier Friday the United States submitted a paper to the conference saying the treaty's biggest problem was noncompliance by countries like Syria and Iran which it said were seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The United States also cited North Korea's nuclear weapons program and said reports its nuclear cooperation with other countries warranted serious vigilance.

"North Korea's clandestine nuclear cooperation with Syria ... is a dangerous manifestation," the U.S. paper said.

North Korea assisted Syria's covert work in building a nuclear reactor capable of producing plutonium and not intended for peaceful purposes, it said.

The U.S. paper made no mention of allegations that the reactor was destroyed in an Israel Air Force bombing raid in September.

Al-Hamoui said the allegations made by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush were part of a disinformation campaign.

"We call upon member states to exercise caution and not to follow as other people have followed the vein of an administration which can only be described as madness," he told the meeting of the 190 countries signed on to the treaty.

Al-Hamoui said Australia and France lack credibility for referring to the U.S. allegations and for failing to mention Israel's own nuclear arsenal.

He said French Ambassador Jean-Francois Dobelle had twice referred to the U.S. allegations.

"France played a major and pivotal role in building the Israeli nuclear program and continues to supply Israel with nuclear technology, which is a clear infringement of the NPT," al-Hamoui said.

"We call on Syria to come clean about its past and current nuclear activities," said Dobelle, who also urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to launch a thorough investigation of the Syrian program.

Australian Ambassador Caroline Millar told the conference that the U.S. information about Syria is very disturbing.

"Syria has an obligation under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA to report the planning and construction of any nuclear facilities," she said.

Bush, Howard Cement Ties as APEC Meet Begins

President Bush stands in line as he waits to be served at a buffet lunch with Australian troops during his visit to Garden Island naval base before the APEC summit in Sydney on Wednesday.

5 September 2007

Sydney: US President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard cemented a strong alliance on Wednesday as Asia-Pacific ministers began talks ranging from human security and climate change to trade and economic reform at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit.

Howard promised Australian soldiers would stay alongside US troops in Iraq following a meeting between the close friends, a short cruise, and lunch beside the picture-postcard Sydney Harbour with Australian soldiers and sailors.

"Our commitment to Iraq remains. This is not the time for any proposals of a scaling down of Australian forces," Howard told reporters, pointing to next week's crucial progress report to the US Congress on the American troop surge in Iraq.

"It's historic work, Mr. Prime Minister, and it's important work and I appreciate the contribution that the Australians have made," Bush replied to the veteran Australian leader, whose support for the war in Iraq is clouding his re-election hopes.

Bush and Howard signed a treaty giving Canberra improved access to secret US military technology and intelligence, surveillance and joint training. Under the deal, US equipment would also be based in Australia in case of regional disasters.

Trade liberalisation and climate change top the agenda at the APEC summit, and Bush wants the group's 21 economies to agree to a strongly worded pledge to reinvigorate the Doha round of world trade talks.

Bush and Howard discussed trade, the Middle East, North Korea and the rise of China, whose President Hu Jintao is also in Australia and was expected in Sydney for APEC later on Wednesday.

Hu visited a farm near the Australian capital, Canberra, to watch a sheep being shorn. China is Australia's biggest wool export destination and resource market, and -- in contrast to Bush -- Hu has received a warm public reception in Australia.

Report: Two Koreas to hold summit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, left, and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung shake hands as Kim Dae-jung arrives at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang in this June 13, 2000 file photo. The leaders of North and South Korea will hold their second-ever summit later this month in Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, reprising the historic 2000 meeting that launched unprecedented reconciliation between the two longtime foes. In June 2000, Kim Jong Il met then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, also in Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Yonhap, POOL, File)

7 August 2007

SEOUL, South Korea - The leaders of North and South Korea will hold their second-ever summit later this month, Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday, reprising the historic 2000 meeting that launched unprecedented reconciliation between the two longtime foes.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun will meet in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, on Aug. 28-30, Yonhap said without citing a source. Yonhap is the South's main national news agency.

In June 2000, Kim met then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, also in Pyongyang.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, but the 2000 meeting led them to embark on economic cooperation projects and reunions of families split by their shared border — the world's most heavily fortified.

Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to engage the North through the so-called sunshine policy.

At the first summit, Kim Jong Il warmly greeted his South Korean counterpart on the tarmac immediately upon landing, showing a human side of the reclusive North Korean leader known for his trademark jumpsuit and sunglasses.

Kim Jong Il had promised at that time to make a return visit to the South for a summit, but it appeared security concerns made that impossible for this month's meeting. Kim only rarely travels abroad, and leaves the country solely via train.

Public Divided as to Whether New President Should Meet with Heads of Iran, Syria, North Korea

July 27, 2007

Forty-two percent (42%) of Americans say that the next President should meet with the heads of nations such as Iran, Syria, and North Korea without setting any preconditions. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 34% disagree while 24% are not sure.

That question came up during last Monday’s Presidential Debate with Illinois Senator Barack Obama saying he would commit to such meetings and New York Senator Hillary Clinton offering a more cautious response. Democrats, by a 55% to 22% margin, agree with Obama. Clinton and Obama continue to dominate the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

However, just 34% of all Americans (and 34% of Democrats) know that Obama made such a commitment. Eleven percent (11%) of all Americans and 14% of Democrats believe the commitment was made by Clinton. Even that level of recognition is probably due more to news coverage of the topic rather than the debate itself. Only 2.6 million Americans watched the debate. Overall, 15% of adults nationally believe the debates are exciting while 58% say they’re boring.

Twenty-four percent (24%) know that Clinton refused to commit to such meetings while 7% believe that Obama was the candidate to do so.

Republicans tend to oppose meetings with the leaders of nations such as Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Those not affiliated with either major party are evenly divided.

A separate release shows that 28% of Americans trust Clinton more than any other candidate on national security matters. Republican Rudy Giuliani is second at 20%. Overall, the public is divided between Republicans and Democrats generically on national security issues, but Democrats are overwhelmingly preferred on a wide variety of topics.

Source

U.S.: North Korea claims reactor shutdown

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief of mission Adel Tolba speaks to the media at Beijing airport July 13, 2007. Staff from the IAEA arrived in Beijing on their way to North Korea where they will prepare to monitor and verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon facilities. REUTERS/Alfred Cheng Jin

14 July 2007

By BURT HERMAN

SEOUL, South Korea -A North Korean diplomat confirmed that his country had shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor after receiving an initial shipment of oil aid and said U.N. inspectors would start verifying the closure on Sunday.

If confirmed by the U.N. inspection team, the shutdown would be the North's first step in nearly five years toward denuclearization, one that comes after lengthy international talks.

"Immediately after the arrival of the first heavy fuel oil, the facilities were shut down and the (International Atomic Energy Agency) personnel will verify that maybe by now, or from today in Korea," Kim Myong Gil, minister at the North's mission to the United Nations in New York, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Saturday's delivery of 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil from South Korea was the first of 50,000 tons promised to the North in exchange for shutting down its reactor in a deal with the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Pyongyang will eventually get 1 million tons of oil and other financial and political concessions.

After tortuous negotiations and delays — during which the North argued its nuclear program was needed for self-defense — the reclusive regime said earlier this month that once it received the oil shipment, it would consider halting its reactor.

In Washington, the State Department said Saturday that North Korea had told the United States the reactor had been shut down, hours after the oil arrived in port.

"We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the International Atomic Energy Agency team," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.

South Korea praised the North's move as "the first step toward translating the North's commitment to denuclearization into action." In a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Hee-yong, Seoul called on Pyongyang to "speed up the implementation of the next phase" of its commitment to disarm.

The 10-member IAEA team arrived in the North Korean capital Saturday afternoon. Team chief Adel Tolba said the inspectors would stay in North Korea as long as needed to complete their work at the Yongbyon plutonium-producing reactor, located about 60 miles northeast of Pyongyang.

"We are going directly to the nuclear site at Yongbyon," Tolba told broadcaster APTN outside the airport.

Footage showed dozens of cardboard boxes being loaded onto the back of two trucks. It was not immediately clear what they contained but Tolba earlier said he and his colleagues were bringing 2,200 pounds of equipment for use during the trip.

After the IAEA team installs monitoring equipment, some experts will remain at Yongbyon to ensure the reactor stays shuttered, said a diplomat familiar with North Korea's file at the IAEA.

"The IAEA plans to have a permanent presence there, with some experts remaining at the site continuously," said the diplomat, who requested anonymity due to the issue's sensitivity.

Kim said the next steps would include the North declaring its nuclear program and disabling the facilities. But he said that would happen only if the U.S. took actions "in parallel," including removing wider economic sanctions against North Korea and striking it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism.

"After the shutdown, then we will discuss about the economic sanctions lifting and removing of the terrorism list. All those things should be discussed and resolved," Kim said.

U.S. envoy Christopher Hill has said the disabling of the North's nuclear facilities could be completed by the end of the year. He said he also expected a complete declaration of its atomic programs within months.

"The shutdown of the Yongbyon complex took place as we believed it would. But I believe we need to caution everyone that this is just the first step," Hill told broadcaster Fuji TV Sunday in the Japanese resort town of Hakone.

The U.S. was informed of the shutdown at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday Pyongyang time (9:30 a.m. EDT), Hill told Japanese broadcaster NHK. He added that he expected a report from the IAEA inspectors at Yongbyon by the end of Sunday.

The six-party agreement eased a standoff that began in October 2002, when the U.S. said North Korean officials had admitted having a secret uranium enrichment program. Washington said that violated a 1994 agreement for the North's disarmament, and a month later halted oil shipments under that deal.

The North reacted by expelling IAEA monitors, withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and restarting the reactor.

North Korea has since occasionally shut down the reactor to remove fuel rods and extract plutonium. It is believed to have harvested enough for at least a dozen bombs.

The government set off an underground nuclear test explosion in October, leading to intensified international efforts to negotiate an end to its arms program.

The North was likely to term the shutdown simply a suspension of operations — which could be easily reversed.

Further Reading:

N Korea 'shuts down' reactor

President Bush and Prime Minister Abe of Japan Participate in a Joint Press Availability

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 27, 2007

Video

Camp David ?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. Welcome. Mr. Prime Minister, Shinzo, welcome to Camp David. I thank you very much for making the long journey. I also thank you for bringing your gracious wife to dinner last night.

The Abes and Laura and I had a really good dinner; it was very relaxed. The Prime Minister married very well. I was so impressed by Akie's compassion, her intelligence and I will tell you, Shinzo, that Laura feels like she has a new friend now, and so do I. So we're really glad you're here.

We had the kind of discussion you'd expect allies to have. I would describe the talks as -- first of all, Shinzo and I met alone for a good period of time. Our talks were very relaxed, but they were strategic. We think about the interest of our country and we think about the interest of maintaining peace in the world. The alliance between Japan and the United States has never been stronger. And the Prime Minister and I will work hard to keep it that way. It's in the interest of our peoples that we work closely.

I told Shinzo one way to do so, of course, is to visit. I hope he comes to my ranch soon. I looked forward to welcoming here to Camp David, but I also look forward to taking him down there -- one might call it a little slice of heaven.

We talked about the fact that our alliance -- and it is a global alliance -- is rooted in common values, especially our commitment to freedom and democracy. We discussed ways we can continue to partner together. There's no more important partnership than that through the six-party talks. We spent a lot of time talking about North Korea and our mutual desire for North Korea to meet its obligations. Our partners in the six-party talks are patient, but our patience is not unlimited. We expect North Korea to meet all its commitments under the February 13th agreement, and we will continue working closely with our partners.

In Iran, we speak with one voice to the regime in Iran. Our nations have fully implemented the sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council in response to Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Further defiance by Iran will only lead to additional sanctions and to further isolation from the international community.

Japan is the second largest donor to the people of Iraq and the third largest donor nation to the people of Afghanistan, and I thank you, Shinzo and I thank the people of Japan for helping these young democracies survive in a troubled world. I firmly believe that we're helping lay a foundation for peace for generations to come.

Over lunch the Prime Minister and I will discuss his upcoming trip to the Middle East. I will remind him he'll be traveling into an important region, where extremists and radicals are trying to prevent the hopes of moderate people, trying to stop peaceful societies from emerging. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip before you leave, and I'm looking forward to hearing from you after you've been there.

Shinzo and I talked about trade and the Doha round. We have a lot of bilateral trade between our two nations. Last year it totaled more than $270 billion, and that's positive for the American people and the people of Japan. Any time you have a lot of trade, there's always complicated trade issues. One such issue, of course, I brought up to the Prime Minister is I'm absolutely convinced the Japanese people will be better off when they eat American beef. It's good beef, it's healthy beef; as a matter of fact, I'm going to feed the Prime Minister and his delegation a good hamburger today for lunch.

But we also talked about the World Trade Organization and the Doha round, and how Japan wants to be constructive in getting this round completed, not only to enhance the prosperity in our own countries, but to help the developing world -- help lift millions of people out of poverty.

We talked about the environment and energy. I appreciated very much Shinzo's vision of using technologies to help our energy security, our economic security, and at the same time be responsible stewards of the environment. There's a lot of work that Japan and the United States can do together, particularly in fields like emission-free nuclear energy, nuclear power. The truth of the matter is, if people really want to solve the issue of greenhouse gases, civilian nuclear power, powering our energy grids by nuclear power is the best alternative available. We can work on new technologies through our joint nuclear energy action plan and through the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership to bring technologies on the market as quickly as possible to assure people that we can deal with the waste, for example, in a responsible way.

Over lunch I'm going to also remind Shinzo about my deep desire to have our folks driving automobiles powered by ethanol and biodiesel. I'm going to share with him our strategy about reducing gasoline consumption in the United States by 20 percent over the next 10 years as a result of ethanol, as well as our cellulosic ethanol technologies that are hopefully coming to market quickly.

All in all, we've had a very constructive, strong dialogue, and I am really pleased you came. Mr. Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: (As translated.) Last night we were invited by George and Laura, and myself and my wife were able to enjoy a very wonderful time together. And today we had one on one meeting, and also had a larger meeting. And we had very substantive discussions. The biggest objective of this visit this time was to reaffirm the irreplaceable Japan-U.S. alliance, and to grow this stronger as an unshakable alliance.

I would like to thank the President and the American people for their very warm welcome yesterday. I visited Bethesda Navy Hospital and the Arlington Cemetery, and prayed for the repose of the souls of those who died for the cause of stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, and prayed for early recovery of those injured. And I would like to pay respect and express gratitude for the noble sacrifice the United States is making.

And in our meeting the President expressed his strong determination to carry through the task of Iraq's reconstruction. And I told the President that Japan understands and supports U.S. efforts of further stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq, and Japan will carry on its own efforts to the same end. I also told him that Japan will be with the United States at all times and that we feel proud as an ally of the United States.

Through this meeting, I've renewed my determination to work with the United States on various challenges facing the international community on the basis of our common values. We were able to speak our minds with regard to our respective political convictions in the midst of this very open and free atmosphere at Camp David and deepen our mutual trust.

I explained to the President that as the mission that my administration I will strive to move Japan beyond the post-war regime. As part of this endeavor, I explained to the President that I launched on the eve of this trip a blue-ribbon panel for the purpose of reshaping the legal foundation for national security in a way that will benefit -- that will befit the times, now that the security environment surrounding Japan is undergoing major change.

With regard to the economy, I told the President that I'm determined to carry it through, structural reforms in Japan, because Japan's growth is important for the growth of the United States as well as the entire world. And I received strong words of support from the President for this direction that Japan is seeking.

We agree that we need to build on response to -- we agreed that we need to build our response to the North Korean nuclear issue and the numerous challenges in East Asia on the Japan-U.S. alliance. And we agreed to step up cooperation in security, economic and cultural exchanges, and many other areas to further strengthen this irreplaceable alliance between Japan and the United States. And I welcomed the conclusion of documents that provide for the strengthening of concrete cooperation in such areas as the economy, cultural exchange and nuclear energy.

We did take a lot of time to discuss North Korean nuclear issues. We agreed to work together to realize a more peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula by making North Korea completely give up its nuclear weapons and programs through the six-party talks.

With regard to the abduction issue, President Bush once again expresses unvarying commitment to support the government of Japan saying that to this day the strong impressions he got when he met Mrs. Yokota, around this time last year, still remains. I told the President that before my departure this time, Mrs. Yokota had told me ever since she last heard from her daughter, Megumi, that the most moving moment was her meeting with the President. So the President expressed his, as I said, unvarying commitment to support of the government of Japan on this abduction issue.

We agree that the current state of the six-party talks, as well as North Korea's attitude towards the abduction issue are regrettable. And we'll work for closer coordination between our two countries to achieve progress.

Let me also point out, as the President mentioned earlier, that an important progress has been made on the climate change issue. And I finalized with the President a joint statement on the subject matter. It is gratifying that we agreed, Japan and the United States agreed at the leaders' level to study jointly an intensified dialogue on ways and means to make progress towards the ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, to resolve the environmental issues and to resolve the greenhouse gas issue. I believe this represents an important progress.

It is essential that the world community act on the climate change issue in concert, and Japan and the United States agreed to work together on this front. Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Two questions a side. Deb, would you start off, please?

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Some people are concerned that you're going soft on North Korea. You said you had --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Said -- what did you just say? There's an echo in here.

Q Some people say you're going soft on North Korea. You said you had unlimited patience with the regime. They've missed their deadline on shutting down their nuclear reactor --

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I said our patience is not unlimited.

Q Not unlimited. My question, sir, is how long are you willing to wait to have them shut this down? Are we talking days, weeks, months? And --

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I appreciate that very much. Do you want to ask the Prime Minister something, too? It's an old U.S. trick here. Keep plowing through it. (Laughter.)

Q Are you worried that America is softening its stance on Kim Jong-il?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I have always believed that the best way to solve these difficult problems is through diplomacy. That's the first choice of the United States, to solve difficult problems diplomatically. I also believe that the best way -- and the difficult problem, of course, was to convincing the leader of North Korea to give up his nuclear weapons program.

I also felt the best way forward was not for the United States to carry this diplomatic mission alone, and therefore worked very hard and closely with our Japanese allies to convince others to come to the table beside the United States. And now we have what we call the six-party talks, which is the United States, Japan, and China, and South Korea and Russia, all saying the same message to North Korea, that we expect you to honor agreements you made, which include not only stopping -- locking down their plant, but also dismantling their programs, and all programs -- giving up weapons programs and weapons. That's what they've said they would do.

We recently had a bump in the road to getting them to honor their agreement, and that is, there is a financial arrangement that we're now trying to clarify for the North Koreans, so that that will enable them to have no excuse for moving forward. And that's where we are right now.

The interesting thing about our position is that if it looks like the North Korean leader is not going to honor his agreement, if it looks like that there are reasons other than the financial arrangements that will cause him to say, well, I really don't mean what I said, we now have a structure in place to continue to provide a strong message to the North Korean. We have the capability of more sanctions. We have the capability of convincing other nations to send a clear message.

So I like our position in terms of achieving this mission in a diplomatic way. And I want to thank the Prime Minister for being a strong advocate of sending a clear message to the North Korean leader that there's a better way forward than to defy the world.

On all issues, there is a --- whether it's this issue or any other issue, is that we will work with our partners to determine how long. But as I said, our patience is not unlimited. And that's the operative word for the leader in North Korea to understand. We hope he moves forward soon, obviously. Just like in -- somebody asked me the other day, how long in Darfur? Well, the leaders will find out the definition of how long when we make it clear we're moving in a different direction. There's still time for the North Korean leader to make the right choice.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: Today this issue had very candid exchange of views. Our understanding of the issue and the direction we are pursuing, we completely see eye to eye on this matter, and we've had completely the same attitude. We'll continue to deal with the North Korean issue.

We have to make the North Koreans understand that unless they keep up their promise, the difficult conditions they find themselves under -- the food situation and economic situation -- they'll not be able to resolve those difficulties. And in fact, the situation would only worsen. So they need to respond appropriately on these issues, otherwise we will have to take a tougher response on our side.

In agreement with the procedures set down by the six-party talks, we'll have to continue to watch whether the North Koreans will actually act. In our negotiations with North Koreans, we now have learned full well their negotiating ploys. And between Japan and the United States, we'll maintain close coordination for the resolution of this issue.

Q Once again, allow me to ask questions related to North Korea. In Japan, the interpretation is that the United States have become softer on the BDA, Banco Delta Asia issue, and some people are concerned. Now Mr. Abe, in your meeting today, did you ask President Bush to step up the American pressures on North Korea?

And a question for Mr. President. I understand the United States has agreed with North Korea to start negotiations on lifting the terrorist state designation. Is it right to consider that a precondition for lifting would be the abduction issue resolution?

PRIME MINISTER ABE: To resolve the North Korean issue, of course, dialogue is needed. But in resolving those issues, and in negotiating with North Koreans, there is a need for pressure. And on that score, George and I fully agree. We reaffirmed that point today. Should the North Koreans fail to keep their promise, we will step up our pressures on North Korea. And on that point, again, I believe we see eye to eye.

As for the importance of the abduction issue, George and our American friends, I'm sure, are fully aware, and they understand our thinking and they support our position. In resolving that abduction issue, as well, Japan and the United States will cooperate with each other, when we need to cooperate with each other. And the President thinks the same way.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We have shown the North Korean leader that obstinance on this issue, that there's a price to pay. We have come together as a group of nations, all aiming to achieve the same objective, and that is for the leader to North Korea to verifiably give up the weapons program that he has, just like he said he would do. And we have proven that we can work in collaboration to deny certain benefits to the North Korean government and people. That's what we've shown so far.

I think it's wise to show the North Korean leader, as well, that there is a better way forward. I wouldn't call that "soft," I'd call that wise diplomacy. It's his choice to make, ultimately, not our choice, as to whether he honors the agreement he agreed to. Our objective is to hold him to account. But he's got different ways forward and we have made that avenue available for his choice. So the meeting today, of course, is to hope for the best and plan for the worst. We're hoping that the North Korea leader continues to make the right choice for his country. But if he should choose not to, we've got a strategy to make sure that the pressure we've initially applied is even greater. That's our plan.

And so it is -- he ought to know that if he makes right choices, there is a way for him to be able to deal with a listing that our government has placed on him; in other words, there's a way forward. And this is -- what you're referring to is the beginning of a process, it's the beginning of an opportunity for him to be in a different position, vis- -vis the United States government on a variety of fronts.

Any discussion about ways forward, however, shouldn't -- should not obscure my strong sentiment about the abductee issue. The Prime Minister mentioned how Mrs. Yokota was affected by her visit to the Oval Office -- well, I was affected by her visit to the Oval Office. It broke my heart to be in the presence of a Japanese mother whose love for her daughter has not diminished over time and her grief is sincere and real. I remember her bringing the picture of the child as she remembers her, right there where I go to work every day, and sitting it on the couch next to her.

So I'm deeply affected by her. She needs to understand that her visit added a human dimension to an issue which is obviously very important to the Japanese people. And I will never forget her visit and I will work with my friend and the Japanese government to get this issue resolved in a way that touches the human heart, in a way that -- it's got more than just a, kind of a diplomatic ring to it, as far as I'm concerned. It's a human issue now to me; it's a tangible, emotional issue. And thank you for bringing the question up.

Toby.

Q Mr. President, the Democrats have voted for a withdrawal timetable from Iraq, which you have said that you will veto. What ideas do you have for breaking this logjam going forward? And would you be willing to veto a second bill?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, first of all, I haven't vetoed the first bill yet. But I'm going to. And the reason why I'm going to is because members of Congress have made military decisions on behalf of the military. They're telling our generals what to do. They're withdrawing before we've even finished reinforcing our troops in Baghdad. They're sending, in my judgment, a bad message to the Iraqis and to the enemy and, most importantly, to our military folks. So I made it clear I'd veto.

And, by the way, they're adding spending that shouldn't belong in the bill in the first place. Maybe they're important issues, but they ought to be -- these spending bills ought to be -- or spending issues ought to be debated in the normal course of business. So I've said this all along, my position has been consistent.

I'm sorry it's come to this. In other words, I'm sorry that we've had this, you know, the issue evolve the way it has. But, nevertheless, it is what it is and it will be vetoed and my veto will be sustained. And then the question is the way forward. And my suggestion is that -- and I invite the leaders of the House and the Senate, both parties to come down soon after my veto, so we can discuss a way forward. If the Congress wants to test my will as to whether or not I'll accept a timetable for withdrawal, I won't accept one. I just don't think it's in the interest of our troops.

I think it -- I'm just envisioning what it would be like to be a young soldier in the middle of Iraq and realizing that politicians have all of the sudden made military determinations. And in my judgment, that would put a kid in harm's way, more so than he or she already is. I really think it's a mistake for Congress to try to tell generals, our military experts, how to conduct a war.

Furthermore, the idea of putting all kinds of extraneous spending on a bill, the purpose of which is to fund our troops, I just don't accept that. So if they want to try again, that which I have said was unacceptable, then of course I'll veto it, but I hope it doesn't come to that. I believe we can work a way forward. I think we can come to our senses and make sure that we get the money to the troops in a timely fashion. It's important to have a political debate, but as I've consistently said, we don't want our troops in between the debate. And Congress needs to get this money to the Pentagon so the Pentagon can get the money to the troops, so our readiness will be up to par, training missions will go forward.

I know Congress, no matter what their position is on the war, doesn't want to affect readiness, and they don't want to affect the military families, I understand that, but they're going to if they keep trying to pass legislation that is -- that just doesn't -- that withdraws troops or micro-manages the war.

So I'm optimistic we can get a bill, a good bill, and a bill that satisfies all our objectives, and that's to get the money to the troops as quickly as possible.

Q A question on the wartime comfort women issue. Mr. Prime Minister, on this issue, did you explain your thoughts to President Bush, and on this matter, did you talk about further factual investigations on the matter, and any intent to apologize on the issue?

Also, a question for Mr. President on the comfort women issue. From the perspective of human rights and Asian history perceptions, I wonder if you could express your thoughts or views.

PRIME MINISTER ABE: Well, in my meeting with the congressional representatives yesterday, I explained my thoughts, and that is I do have deep-hearted sympathies that my people had to serve as comfort women, were placed in extreme hardships, and had to suffer that sacrifice; and that I, as Prime Minister of Japan, expressed my apologizes, and also expressed my apologizes for the fact that they were placed in that sort of circumstance.

The 20th century was a century that human rights were violated in many parts of the world. So we have to make the 21st century a century -- a wonderful century in which no human rights are violated. And I, myself, and Japan wish to make significant contributions to that end. And so I explained these thoughts to the President.

PRESIDENT BUSH: The comfort women issue is a regrettable chapter in the history of the world, and I accept the Prime Minister's apology. I thought it was very -- I thought his statements -- Kono's statement, as well as statements here in the United States were very straightforward and from his heart. And I'm looking forward to working with this man to lead our nations forward. And that's what we spent time discussing today.

We had a personal visit on the issue. He gave his -- he told me what was on his heart about the issue, and I appreciated his candor. And our jobs are to, obviously, learn lessons from the past. All of us need to learn lessons from the past and lead our nations forward. That's what the Prime Minister is doing in a very capable way.

Listen, we thank you all for coming, appreciate your time. Have a nice weekend. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you.

END