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Sunday, Oct. 19, 2003

"We have a mutual goal and that is that the (Korean) peninsula be free of nuclear weapons," Bush said after a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao ahead of a 21-nation Asia-Pacific summit.

Earlier, Bush alluded to a new approach to try to get Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program.

"We think there's an opportunity to move the process forward and we're going to discuss it with our partners," Bush said.

Neither he nor Hu specified what would come next, other than agreeing any new talks should involve the six nations previously engaged: North Korea, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

But administration officials say the new approach would involve the other five powers -- spearheaded by China -- extending some kind of written joint security assurance to North Korea.

"We are willing to enter into some sort of agreement with them, that will give them the assurances they're looking for," Secretary of State Colin Powell said on "Fox News Sunday."

A senior Bush official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described it as an "`agreement' with a small `a,"' rather than a treaty that would require Senate ratification.

Earlier, Bush told reporters, "We will not have a treaty, if that's what you're asking. That's off the table."

North Korea has said it is not interested in new six-party talks unless the United States discusses a nonaggression treaty. The country's state-run newspaper on Sunday called the summit the wrong place to talk about the issue, because it "is an issue to be resolved between us and the United States."

Hu said he told Bush that "China will continue to strengthen our communication and participation with various parties, and we will continue to work to promote the Beijing six-party talks process."

Bush said that short of a treaty, "Perhaps there are other ways we can look at, to say exactly what I've said publicly, on paper, with our partners' consent."

South Korea had no immediate comment, according to Ban Kimoon, a senior adviser to South Korea's president. Russian President Vladimir Putin, attending the summit, said Sunday that six-nation talks could yield "good, positive results" if North Korea's security worries were addressed.

On the China Front

Meanwhile, Bush made little apparent headway on his efforts to get China to stop a policy that keeps its currency undervalued compared to the U.S. dollar -- at what U.S. manufacturers claim is their expense.

Neither Bush nor Hu directly mentioned the currency dispute when they talked with reporters, and neither took any questions.

Hu, however, said, "We both stated our readiness to resolve whatever questions that might emerge in our economic exchange through dialogue."

Before the meeting with Hu, Bush reiterated that the United States has no intention of invading North Korea.

Two senior Bush administration officials briefing reporters in Bangkok said China would take the lead role in coming days and weeks to reach out to the other countries in the region and put something in writing to meet North Korea's security concerns. Bush was to raise the issue Monday in a meeting with South Korea's president.

Then Pyongyang will be approached, the officials said. They said China's leaders hoped the process could be resolved by year's end.

Such a multiparty agreement might have a better chance of enduring, Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." She ruled out a direct pact between the United States and North Korea, saying North Korea had broken such deals before.

Bush had high on his agenda the hope of persuading China to abandon the policy of keeping its currency artificially low to boost exports. Bush contends that hurts American sales overseas.

But China gave no signs of bending.

Before meeting with Bush, Hu defended the currency policy, telling international business executives that China's rapid ascendance as a major trading nation was benefiting the world.

In the session with Bush, Hu also said the president reaffirmed the U.S. position that it supports a "one China" policy and "opposition to Taiwan independence." Bush, in his brief remarks, did not mention Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Bush announced that the United States and Thailand would begin negotiations on a free-trade agreement and also promised to increase U.S.-Thai military cooperation.

Protests in Bangkok were light as world leaders arrived for the summit, partly because unprecedented security and government pressure kept demonstrators far from the site.

About 1,000 protesters gathered at a Bangkok university Sunday to demonstrate against the summit, calling Bush "the world's real terrorist."

On their first full day in Bangkok, Bush and his wife, Laura, toured the temple of the Emerald Buddha, one of the most sacred images in Thailand. "Inspiring," Bush said of the brightly colored buildings, golden spires and glittering mosaics that date back to 1782.

© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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