U.S., Japan, South Korea prod North Korea http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-11-18T204316Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-276818-2.xml
Sat Nov 18, 2006
By Matt Spetalnick
HANOI (Reuters) - The United States, Japan and South Korea prodded North Korea on Saturday to abandon nuclear weapons, using an Asia Pacific summit to pile pressure on Pyongyang over its missile launches and nuclear test.
U.S. President George W. Bush met South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe separately, and then jointly, on the margins of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and North Korea was the dominant theme.
"There is no doubt when we work together we can bring peace and stability, and prosperity for our peoples," Bush said.
The message to North Korea was expected to be spelled out in a statement on Sunday from the 21-nation APEC summit: Forswear nuclear weapons and economic benefits will follow. A diplomatic source said it was likely to be read out by the chairman.
North Korea has agreed to return to talks over its nuclear programmes with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
No date has been set -- the U.S. hope is by the end of the year -- and Washington says it is most concerned that Pyongyang be prepared at those talks to take "concrete steps" to show it is serious about abandoning atomic weapons.
White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said Bush, Roh and Abe in their joint session discussed the need to use both pressure and incentives to try to get North Korea to give up nuclear weapons and the need for coordination among them and with China.
"I think there is a sense that while there is patience required, there was also a shared view that we must not let North Korea use the six-party talks as an instrument for delay," he said.
Bush meets Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
Hadley would not be drawn into discussing what steps North Korea should take, saying it was to be negotiated with U.S. allies.
But he did not disagree that they could include suspension of a five-megawatt reactor and plutonium reprocessing plant and allowing international inspectors back into North Korea.
While Bush and Abe saw eye-to-eye that North Korea should not be allowed to import or export nuclear materials, South Korea's Roh could only go so far. Roh stopped short of complete support for the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative aimed at intercepting North Korean ships. Seoul fears it would lead to armed clashes.
"Although the Republic of Korea is not taking part in the full scope of the PSI, we support principles and goals of the PSI and will fully cooperate in preventing WMD (weapons of mass destruction) materials in the North Korea region," Roh told reporters as Bush sat nearby.
White House officials insisted they did not see Roh's statement as a setback and acknowledged he faced political constraints in trying to intercept ships that share the same territorial waters as South Korea.
Roh sought to dispel questions about his resolve by vowing to implement "in a faithful manner" enforcement of U.N. Security Council resolution 1718, which banned trade of goods and transfer of funds to the North that could aid its arms programs.
BUSH MEETS ABE FIRST TIME
Bush and Abe, in their first face-to-face talks since Abe replaced Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister, agreed to strengthen pursuit of a ballistic missile defense against the threat of North Korean missiles.
Bush and Abe struck up a fast friendship, talking about baseball and their grandfathers. Bush had developed warm ties with Koizumi, taking him to Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion earlier this year.
"I told the prime minister he needs to get over to the United States quickly. I'm looking forward to hosting you," Bush said of Abe. The Japanese leader said he would visit next year.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Arshad Mohammed)
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