. | . |
Bush: World must be 'firm and patient' on NKorea
Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan (AFP) Dec 15, 2008 US President George W. Bush said Monday that he hoped Washington's partners in North Korean nuclear disarmament talks will stay "firm and patient" with the secretive regime. Fresh talks last week failed to yield a formal verification mechanism for ensuring North Korea tells the truth about its nuclear programmes, after the communist state refused to sign up to a Chinese-drafted proposal. "The key is to be firm and patient with a structure that will enable the next president, or the next president after that, to be able to solve the problem diplomatically," Bush told reporters on board his official Air Force One airpline. He was speaking between surprise visits to Iraq and Afghanistan, his last before he leaves the White House next month. "Right now, what you're watching is that the leader of North Korea is trying to test the process," Bush said, referring to the diplomatic efforts grouping China, Japan, Russia, North and South Korea, and the United States. "The objective is to keep our partners firm on the understanding that the six-party process is the best way to solve the North Korean issue," said Bush, who underlined "we need to have a verifiable process" of denuclearization. "In the old process it used to be 'we will give you what you asked for and hope that you'll respond.' Now it is 'here's what you must do if you want our help,'" he said. North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear programmes in return for energy aid and diplomatic concessions under a deal worked out by the six-nation talks negotiators. Washington said after the talks collapsed last week that shipments of fuel would be suspended, but Pyongyang responded by threatening to slow down work aimed at dismantling its nuclear facilities. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
US says no more fuel shipments to NKorea until nuke verification Washington (AFP) Dec 12, 2008 The United States said Friday that there would be no more fuel aid shipments to energy-strapped North Korea until Pyongyang agrees to a written plan to verify its nuclear disarmament. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |