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Bush sees new peace structure in E. Asia

SINGAPORE: The U.S. and South Korea on Wednesday “agreed” to work for “the creation of a new peace structure on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia.” The hallmark of the current “structure” is the presence of U.S. troops in South Korea and Japan.

U.S. President George W. Bush and his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak, said in a statement after their talks in Seoul that the two countries would also “strengthen their strategic coordination” for “the prompt resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.”

Mr. Bush is now on a tour of East Asia in the context of the Beijing Olympics, set to begin on Friday.

At a joint press conference with Mr. Lee, Mr. Bush said: “The reason I am going to the Olympics is twofold: One, to show my respect for the people of China, and two, to cheer on the U.S. team.”

On the North Korean nuclear issue, Mr. Bush said:

“I don’t know whether or not they are going to give up their weapons.

The North Korean leader has yet to fully verify [rather, notify] the extent to which he has had a highly enriched uranium programme.

There are still more steps to be done on the [disablement and dismantlement of the] plutonium programme. So, in order to get off the ‘axis of evil’ list, the North Korean leader is going to have to make certain decisions.”

The so-called ‘axis of evil,’ first identified by Mr. Bush several years ago, consists of Iran, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and North Korea.

North Korea, the visiting American President said, could “conceivably” be taken off the American list of state-sponsors of terrorism in about a week’s time, in the light of progress in the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

There were no surprises in Mr. Bush’s comments on North Korea’s nuclear issue. But the American President’s pledge to work for the “creation of a new peace structure” reflected some new thinking, according to regional diplomats and analysts.

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