US President George W. Bush said yesterday he supported reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula, but warned that "America will not allow North Korea ... to threaten freedom with weapons of mass destruction."
Giving Americans a preview of his trip to Asia, Bush said in his weekly radio address that he would talk to Japanese leaders about the "bold reforms" needed to revive their recession-bound economy, and press China to live up to its trade obligations by opening its markets to US agricultural products.
The US president, who departed yesterday for Tokyo, is also seeking support for a widening war against terrorism.
"I look forward to discussing our progress in ridding the world of this great threat to civilization, and we'll discuss our work to build a better world beyond terror -- a world of greater opportunity and more open trade, stronger security and more individual freedom," Bush said.
In addition to Japan, Bush will visit South Korea and China next week.
Ahead of the trip, the White House made clear Bush would stand by his hotly contested characterization of North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and Iran.
But in his radio address, Bush lent support for negotiations on the Korean Peninsula.
"The people of the South are now reaching out to the North in a spirit of friendship and reconciliation. I support these efforts," Bush said. "Yet I will remind the world that America will not allow North Korea and other dangerous regimes to threaten freedom with weapons of mass destruction."
Some ruling and opposition politicians in South Korea have expressed disquiet at Bush's comments, but President Kim Dae-jung said the alliance with Washington was paramount even if there were differences in approach.
The Bush administration has offered to resume a dialogue with North Korea, provided the agenda can include US demands that the North Koreans cut their conventional forces and stop exporting missiles to countries Washington does not like.
While in South Korea, Bush said he would travel to the demilitarized zone, "where barbed wire marks a line dividing freedom and oppression." There, Bush will meet with US troops who reinforce South Korean soldiers facing North Korea on the last Cold War border.
In Tokyo, Bush will prod Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to take steps to lift the world's second-largest economy out of recession.
In his radio address, Bush said, "I'm confident that Japan will make the bold reforms needed to restore growth and opportunity, which will benefit the people of both our nations."
In China, the focus will be on trade and human rights.
Bush said he would discuss Beijing's commitment to open Chinese markets to US farm products. Last week, US trade officials met with their Chinese counterparts to urge that China clarify new rules for certifying and labeling genetically modified products and take steps to avoid disrupting trade.
"I'm also looking forward to meeting with Chinese students, because it gives me an opportunity to talk about the America I know -- an America with strong values of family, community, faith and freedom," Bush said.
"And I will express my hopes that as China moves forward, it, too, will embrace the universal demands of human dignity, freedom of conscience and religion, and the rights and value of every life."
RSS