Bush Says U.S. Is Making Progress on North Korea’s Nuclear Issue Through Dialogue

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Sunday that the U.S. is making progress in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear issue through dialogue.

Bush said, in an interview broadcast Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” that “ North Korea is different from Iraq in the way diplomacy is just beginning with North Korea, whereas it failed in Iraq. We are making good progress.”

When Bush was asked about reasons why the U.S. would not go to war against Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Myanmar while he took the country to the war against Iraq, he said, “ We felt we needed to use force in Iraq, but not in North Korea.”

He added that on the Korean peninsula now the U.S. and China, along with South Korea, Japan, and Russia, are sending a clear message to Kim Jung-il that the communist state should disclose and destroy its nuclear program in a transparent manner.” Diplomatic informed sources in Washington said that Bush made remarks about progress in North Korea’s nuclear issue, because the second round of six-way talks is scheduled to take place.

maypole@donga.com