President Bush, trying to fortify global pressure on North Korea, on Saturday backed Pacific Rim leaders in demanding that the communist regime abandon its nuclear weapons program. In Hanoi for the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Bush worked to preserve U.S. solidarity with five nations getting ready to restart nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. The White House endorsed a statement all 21 Pacific Rim members will issue to express their worries about North Korea's first nuclear test on October 9 and its missile launches in July. "I think we're pleased with that statement and I think it will be a good contribution to the diplomacy," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters. With North Korea saying it is ready to resume the talks, Bush was meeting individually with each of the four U.S. partners in the discussions to coordinate strategy: South Korea's Roh Moo-hyun and Japan's Shinzo Abe on Saturday and Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Hu Jintao on Sunday. The president urged strong enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea, imposed after it tested a nuclear bomb last month, despite Pyongyang's new willingness to reopen six-party negotiations. Addressing both North Korea and wary allies, Bush said Pyongyang has much to look forward to if it agrees in those talks to give up its nuclear weapons and development of such weapons. Possible steps include a ceremony to formally declare an end to the Korean War, humanitarian and economic aid, and an end to a U.S. campaign to cut off the North's access to foreign banks. That move, aimed at alleged money laundering and counterfeiting by Pyongyang, caused the North to walk away from the negotiating table last year. "We want the North Korean leaders to hear that if it gives up its weapons -- nuclear weapons ambitions -- that we would be willing to enter into security arrangements with the North Koreans, as well as move forward new economic incentives for the North Korean people," the president said at the end of an hourlong meeting with Roh. Hadley stressed that North Korea must take concrete steps on its nuclear program in order for talks to resume. But he did not get specific on what those steps must be.
