Johannesburg

Monday

Mostly sunny. Mild.

12°C
26°C

7 day forecasts

US firm on North Korea

2005-11-17 10:31

Busan - United States president George W Bush and South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun set aside their differences on North Korea on Thursday and agreed that a nuclear-armed Pyongyang was unacceptable.

This follows a meeting between the two leaders in the ancient Korean capital of Gyeongju. The two leaders said that North Korea should "eliminate its nuclear weapons programmes promptly and verifiably."

"We re-iterated that a nuclear-armed North Korea will not be tolerated and re-affirmed that the issue should be resolved through peaceful and democratic means," said Roh.

Bush gave no ground on Washington's position that North Korea will not get the light-water atomic reactor it wants for producing energy until it has verifiably dismantled its nuclear weapons and the programmes to make them.

Leaders are committed to six-country talks

The two leaders also recommitted themselves to six-country talks - with the US, South Korea, Russia, China and Japan as partners in negotiations with North Korea. Roh said a new round should come as soon as possible.

The US president acknowledged "complexities" in the bilateral relationship but stressed that ties between Washington and Seoul had "never been better" and emphasised his support for eventually reuniting the two Koreas.

"I see a peninsula one day that is united and at peace," said Bush.

He praised South Korean democracy and its economy, and thanked Roh for sending some 3 000 troops in support of US efforts in Iraq - the third-largest contingent behind the United States and Britain.

Bush then lashed out at US opposition Democrats who have stepped up charges that he twisted intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and thereby convincing the US to go to war.

'I expect there to be criticism'

Asked whether he sided with US vice president Dick Cheney, who suggested that such criticisms undermine US forces on the front lines, or Republican senator Chuck Hagel, who called asking questions in time of war a patriotic duty, Bush wasted no time in answering: "The vice-president."

"I expect there to be criticism. But when Democrats say that I deliberately misled the congress and the people, that's irresponsible," said Bush , as US polls showed more and more Americans doubt his honesty.

Bush was in South Korea for talks with Roh, as well as the Asia-Pacific Econmic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit, which opens on Friday. He is to travel to China and Mongolia before returning to Washington.

On his week-long trip to Asia, Bush is to have consulted all the leaders in the six-party North Korean talks. He is to see Russian president Vladimir Putin in South Korea, and sit down in Beijing with Chinese president, Hu Jintao.

- AFP

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 18-29°C Sunny. Warm. Pta: 15-29°C More sun than clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 12-26°C Mostly sunny. Mild. Bloem: 14-28°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 19-23°C Drizzle. More sun than clouds. Cool. PE: 16-24°C More sun than clouds. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2008 A4 1.8T Multitronics from R 269 000

MITSUBISHI

Colt 2000 LWB Std PU MY06
2008
R 109,990.00

VOLKSWAGEN

CitiGolf 1.4i CitiRox 5-dr
2009
R 84,990.00

VOLKSWAGEN

CitiGolf 1.4i TenaCiti 5-dr
2008
R 62,900.00

Property - Find a new home

VAN RIEBEECKSHOF

Single Residential R2,050,000

DWARSKERSBOS

Single Residential R1,600,000

BRYANSTON

Multiple Unit R2,500,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

Great Festive Savings on Books

Up to 30% Off ALL Books. 2.3 million titles on SALE.

Sleek New iPod Range. Order Your's Now!

iPod nano 16GB - Black, Was R2,499.00 Now R2,299.00! Save R200!

Up to 40% off Fabulous Festive Flicks

46 000 DVDs and Blu-Ray on sale now! Pre-order Up and District 9!

Up to 20% off ALL Music

100s of festive new releases now in stock! Now, Bump 25, Bon Jovi & more!

1000s of Festive Toys on Sale

Lots of Toys, free gift wrap, lowest prices on Lego Mindstorm, Ben 10, Hannah Montana & more!

Hot Deal of the Day!

All DVDs on Sale

Up to 40% Off 46 000 Titles

District 9, UP, Ice Age, Transformers, Life & more!

Up to 40% Off Sale on All Books, Toys, CDs, DVDs & Games!