*EPF503 08/01/2003
Excerpt: Bush Optimistic About Multilateral Talks with North Korea
(President's remarks at August 1 press conference) (660)

President Bush says he is optimistic that the multilateral talks with North Korea that he has long hoped for will, in fact, take place.

During a press conference August 1, Bush said that thanks to the help from China's leadership, "it looks like we'll have a multinational forum."

He did not, however, mention any specific date or place for the talks.

The partners in the talks with Pyongyang would include South Korea, Japan, Russia, China as well as the United States, Bush said.

"We're upbeat about the fact that others are assuming responsibility for peace besides the United States of America," the president told reporters. "In the past it was the lone voice of the United States speaking clearly about this. Now we'll have other parties who have got a vested interest in peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Bush said that in previous administrations bilateral talks with North Korea had failed.

Upcoming discussions, the president said, would all aim at convincing North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il to change his attitude about nuclear weaponry.

Bush said he hoped the Pyongyang regime would make the decision to totally dismantle its nuclear weapons program and "allow there to be complete transparency and verifiability."

"And we're optimistic that that can happen," he said.

Following is the transcript of President Bush's August 1 press conference:

(begin excerpt)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

August 1, 2003

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AFTER MEETING WITH HIS CABINET

The Cabinet Room
11:20 A.M. EDT

Q: Thank you, sir. Does your offer still stand for assistance to North Korea if they give up their nuclear program? And how can you deal with someone like Kim Jong-il, a man you don't trust?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Thank you for bringing that question up, because we had some, what we think as positive developments. As you know, we were very concerned about trying to enter into a bilateral agreement with Kim Jong-il because of the fact that he didn't tell the truth to previous administrations. And so we took a new tack, and that was to work with our -- with China, primarily China, initially, to engage China in the process so that there is more than one voice speaking to Mr. Kim Jong-il.

And thanks to the Chinese leadership -- and we do applaud Hu Jintao and his administration for agreeing to be a responsible party in the neighborhood in which they live -- it looks like we'll have a multinational forum. What that really means is that more than the United States and China will show up to have a meaningful discussion with Mr. Kim Jong-il. That means Japan will be there. After all, Japan is an important part of the neighborhood. South Korea will be there. They've had a vested interest in having discussions and dialogues with Kim Jong-il. And Russia has agreed to join, which means there are now five nations in North Korea sitting at a table, all aimed at convincing -- the discussions will be all aimed at convincing Mr. Kim Jong-il to change his attitude about nuclear weaponry.

In the past it was the lone voice of the United States speaking clearly about this. Now we'll have other parties who have got a vested interest in peace on the Korean Peninsula. And so I would say the progress is being -- is good progress. And we're upbeat about the fact that others are assuming responsibility for peace besides the United States of America. And we'll see how the dialogue goes. We fully understand the past. We are hopeful, however, that Mr. Kim Jong-il, because he's hearing other voices, will make the decision to totally dismantle his nuclear weapons program, that he will allow there to be complete transparency and verifiability. And we're optimistic that that can happen.

(end excerpt)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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