N. Korea 'must disarm,' Bush declares

WASHINGTON -- President Bush vowed Monday to enlist other world powers in convincing North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons project but indicated he has no plans to use force as he might with Iraq.

"This is a chance for people who love freedom and peace to work together to deal with an emerging threat," he said. "I believe we can deal with this threat peacefully, particularly if we work together."

Bush, using a more restrained tone than on Iraq, was addressing North Korea's confession about a nuclear program for the first time since administration officials reported it to Washington 16 days earlier. He said he would use meetings over the next week with leaders of China, Japan, Russia and South Korea to discuss how to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Il "that he must disarm."

"We had a bit of troubling news when we discovered the fact that, contrary to what we had been led to believe, that they were enriching uranium, the idea of developing a nuclear weapon," Bush said. "We felt like they had given their word they weren't going to do this."

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer responded coldly to an offer from North Korea for talks about its nuclear programs, saying that consultations with allies would come first. "International pressure will come to bear on North Korea to make them realize the dangers that they are pursuing, in terms of the future for them will be increasingly isolated if they go down the road that they have indicated they're going down," he said.

Bush is to meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Friday at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. He said North Korea will be discussed in meetings with other world powers during his two-day trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Mexico.

A reporter asked Bush to explain why he was threatening war with Iraq but pursuing a diplomatic course with Pyongyang.

"Saddam Hussein is unique, in this sense: He has thumbed his nose at the world for 11 years," Bush said, referring to U.N. resolutions requiring disarmament by Iraq. "What makes him even more unique is the fact he's actually gassed his own people. He has used weapons of mass destruction on neighboring countries and he's used weapons of mass destruction on his own citizenry. He wants to have a nuclear weapon. He has made it very clear he hates the United States and, as importantly, he hates friends of ours."

In Tokyo, meanwhile, Japan's lead negotiator with North Korea said Japan will stop financing two nuclear reactors in North Korea and suspend talks on normalizing relations if there is no progress on ending the North's nuclear weapons program.

"Of course the negotiations would halt," said the official, Katsunari Suzuki. Turning to the nuclear power project, Suzuki said that if Japan determined that North Korea "is carrying out nuclear development, then we must suspend at a minimum, and in certain cases, must think about terminating it."

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, however, issued a caution about the normalization talks, which are to start Oct. 29 in Malaysia, saying, "One must not assume they are doomed from the start."

Sudan Peace Act signed

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Monday signed a resolution meant to prod Sudan to end a 20-year war that has killed 2-million people.

The measure formally condemns human rights violations, alleges the Sudanese government uses food as a weapon and directs the president to impose sanctions against Sudan if he determines its government isn't negotiating in good faith.

The bill would authorize $300-million over the next three years for peace efforts -- money Congress would have to provide in separate legislation.

The government of Sudan signed an agreement with rebels last week to suspend fighting during talks to end the war.

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