U.S. President George W. Bush said he talked Monday with Chinese leader Hu Jintao about dissuading North Korea from pursuing nuclear weapons and bringing it back to dialogue.
The telephone call took place amid concerns that Pyongyang may be preparing for an underground nuclear test.
"I talked to Hu Jintao this morning about the six-party talks and about the need for us to continue to work together to send a clear message to the North Korean leader that there is a better choice for him than to continue to develop a nuclear weapon," Bush said at a news conference.
He said the six-party process is an "important part" of the U.S. strategy of dealing with North Korea.
"The Chinese president recognized that in the phone call today," he said.
"And so we talked about how we will continue to collaborate and work together."
South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan are members of the six-nation talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. In a joint statement in September, Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear weapons and programs in return for political and economic benefits provided by other parties.
But Pyongyang has refused to come back to the table since November, demanding Washington first withdraw the "sanctions" against a Macau bank the U.S. accuses of laundering money for North Korea.
The U.S. Treasury insists its measures are not sanctions but a means to protect the U.S. financial system from abuse.
Washington also suspects Pyongyang of counterfeiting American currency and smuggling drugs and contraband as financial means to sustain the regime.
Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told Reuters on Monday the U.S. believes North Korea may be hiding significant amounts of its illicit money around the world, including Europe.
"Given the regime's illicit activities... the line between illicit and licit North Korean money is nearly invisible," he said.
Other press reports said North Korea opened bank accounts in Vietnam and other Asian countries.
Bush said any U.S. president should be concerned and should act if American dollars are being counterfeited.
"And when you catch people counterfeiting your money, you need to do something about it," he said.
The North Korea issue took on urgency when Pyongyang test-fired seven missiles last month, including a long-range missile that theoretically can strike the U.S. west coast. The international community reacted strongly, with the 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously adopting a resolution condemning Pyongyang's acts.
Beijing, one of Pyongyang's last remaining ideological allies, voted for the resolution.
U.S. television network ABC, quoting senior State Department officials, said there were signs Pyongyang may be preparing a nuclear test.
North Korea declared in February last year that it possessed nuclear weapons but has not yet tested them.
Washington, Aug. 21 (Yonhap News)
Bush talks to Hu about North Korea, stalled six-party talks |
