U.S. offers tangible carrots to N. Korea for abandoning nukes

The United States said Saturday it could consider a declaration of the end of the Korean War along with various cooperation with North Korea if the communist regime keeps its promise to abandon its nuclear program.

In his summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, President George W. Bush said that Washington is "willing to enter into security arrangements with the North Koreans as well as move forward new economic incentives for the North Korean people," if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear weapons ambitions.

The Roh-Bush summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting that ended on Sunday (local time).

Bush gave no more details on what his country will do if Pyongyang implements last year's Sept. 19 joint statement in which it agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program in return for security guarantees and economic aid.

Bush's comments reflected Washington's earlier position, but his spokesman specified carrots for Pyongyang.

White House spokesman Tony Snow provided the most detailed list of what the U.S. might do, saying it included "a declaration of the end of the Korean War and moving forward on economic cooperation, cultural, educational and other ties," according to Reuters.

The three-year war ended in 1953 with a ceasefire, not a formal peace treaty. The two Koreas remain technically at war, sharing the world's most heavily armed border.

North Korea has long called for a peace treaty to replace the fragile armistice, a request rejected by the U.S., which fought for the South during the Korean War, amid the prolonged nuclear crisis.

Washington's olive branch came ahead of the resumption of the much-awaited six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear program, in which the two countries are the main participants.

The negotiations, also involving South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, are expected to restart next month after a year-long hiatus.

Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. delegate to the talks, is reportedly scheduled to visit China this week to coordinate a strategy for progress in the discussions.

Washington, Nov. 18 (Yonhap News)