Bush says North Korean leader wants to end six-nation nuclear talks

CORAL GABLES, Florida, Sept 30 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il wants to end six-nation talks on the Korean nuclear crisis and that the United States must not start bilateral negotiations.
Bush and Kerry clashed over how to handle the Stalinist state and Iran -- both members of what Bush has called an "axis of evil" -- during a presidential election debate here.
The Democratic challenger said the United States should open direct talks with North Korea and take a stronger role in countering Iran's nuclear programme.
Bush said that talks involving North Korea, the United States, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan must be pursued and had been effective.
"So now there are five voices speaking to Kim Jong-Il, not just one," said the president.
"If Kim Jong-Il decides not to honour an agreement, he's not only doing an injustice to America, he would be doing injustice to China as well. And I think this will work.
"It's not going to work if we open up a (direct) dialogue with Kim Jong-Il. That's what he wants.
"He wants to unravel the six-party talks or the five nation coalition that's sending him a message," said Bush.
Kerry said that on taking office in 2001 Bush had reversed a US policy under which the United States was able to monitor the North Korean nuclear programme and there had been no contacts for two years after.
"While they didn't talk at all, the fuel rods came out, the inspectors were kicked out, the television cameras were kicked out, and today there are four to seven nuclear weapons in the hands of North Korea.
"That happened on this president's watch."
"I want bilateral talks which put all of the issues from the armistice of 1953, the economic issues, human rights issue, artillery disposal issues, DMZ issues and nuclear issues on the table," Kerry said.
Bush immediately retored: "The minute we have bilateral talks the six-party talks will unwind. That's what Kim Jong-Il wants."
The US leader said he hoped an international effort could also "convince the Iranians to abandon their nuclear ambitions."
He said the United States had worked very closely with Britain, France and Germany on an initiative to push Iran away from its suspected nuclear weapons drive.
"I hope we can do it, and we've got a good strategy," Bush said of the effort being fought through the International Atomic Energy Agency and which the United States wants to see taken to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.
But Kerry said it was wrong for the United States not to have been involved in the British-French-German initiative.
He said the United States should have been involved in testing the Iranian facilities: "If they weren't willing to work a deal, we could have put sanctions together. The president did nothing," declared Kerry.