Remarks Following a Meeting With President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea in Hanoi, Vietnam,
November 18, 2006

President Roh. Today President Bush and I had a very good discussion on the North Korean nuclear issue. We agreed on the principle that North Korea should dismantle its nuclear weapons and its nuclear program, that our two countries fully support the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718, and our two countries will implement this resolution in a faithful manner.

Although the Republic of Korea is not taking part in the full scope of the PSI, we support the principles and goals of the PSI and will fully cooperate in preventing WMD materiel transfer in the Northeast Asia region. And we also agreed that we will actively seek to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue within the six-party talks framework and also by actively engaging in bilateral talks within this framework.

In conclusion, the President and I had very satisfactory discussions on this issue, and we had very useful and indepth discussions on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

President Bush. Mr. President, I agree. We had a discussion like you would expect allies to have a discussion. We are allies in peace. We are allies in working to improve the lives of our fellow citizens.

We did discuss 1718, Resolution 1718, and our mutual desire to effectively enforce the will of the world. I appreciate the cooperation we’re receiving from South Korea on the Proliferation Security Initiative. Our desire is to solve the North Korean issue peacefully. And as I’ve made clear in a speech as recently as two days ago in Singapore, that we want the North Korean leader to hear that if he gives up his weapons and nuclear weapons ambitions, that we would be willing to enter into security arrangements with the North Koreans as well as move forward new economic incentives for the North Korean people.

I appreciate your commitment to peace, and I appreciate our mutual friendship, Mr. President. And I’ve enjoyed yet another meeting in our quest to achieve our common objectives.

Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 8:38 a.m. in the Sheraton Hanoi. In his remarks, he referred to Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea. President Roh spoke in Korean, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter.