Bush presses N Korea for talks

Bush is using the APEC summit to drive his anti-terror campaign

By CNN's Alex Frew McMillan in Shanghai
and wire reports

SHANGHAI, China (CNN) -- President George W. Bush has pressed the leader of communist North Korea to accept his invitation to meet with U.S. representatives.

"My administration wishes to begin a dialog with the government of Kim Jong Il," Bush said at a conference with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, on the eve of the APEC leader's meeting.

Standing next to the South's leader on the sidelines of the weeklong forum, Bush said both of them had given Kim Jong-il an opportunity to show he was interested in peace and in improving the lives of North Koreans.

"This is a moment in history where he can prove his worth," Bush said, adding that so far the North's leader has refused to accept the American invite.

Later Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his nation would continue to oversee trilateral talks between the two Koreas and Russia.

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Putin said he had gotten a warm welcome from the United States, China and Japan, as well as other nations.

Contacts put on hold

U.S.-North Korean contacts were put on hold when Bush took office in January and called for a review of predecessor Bill Clinton's policies. Those initiatives had helped encourage a flurry of exchanges between Cold War foes North and South Korea in 2000.

At home Bush said the United States was strong

Washington said in June it was willing to resume talks on a range of issues, including Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, as well as the concentration of troops and weapons on its border with South Korea.

But North Korea said there would be no talks as long as the United States continued to raise the issue of North Korea's weapons capability.

It has also postponed a reunion of separated family members and North Korea's Kim has failed to repay an earlier visit by the South Korean leader.

Despite the setbacks, Bush said he still looked forward to hearing from Kim Jong Il. This was a starkly different stance from earlier this week, when Bush warned the isolationist North not to take advantage of America's battle against terrorism by moving against South Korea, a U.S. ally.

The United States considers the North a rogue nation, and part of the reason why it needs to push a controversial national missile defense plan.

Korean peace

Bush took the opportunity on Friday to praise the South's leader for pushing peace on the Korean peninsula through his "sunshine policy" of negotiating with the North.

The two Koreas are technically at war since they never signed a peace treaty following the 1950-1953 war.

Friday's meeting between Kim and Bush was a marked improvement on a meeting between the two earlier this year.

At that meeting, ties between the two took a turn for the worse, with Bush less than supportive of Kim's engagement policy with the North.

His reservations stemmed largely from doubts about the trustworthiness of the North's Kim Jong-il.

Putin said Russia, which borders on North Korea and thanks to past ties is one of few countries with a positive relationship with it, was sure of that.

"I am certain that the Korean Democratic Republic is committed to the development of that country," Putin said. "I have no doubts about the sincerity of the leadership of North Korea."

He said the relationship of the two Koreas was a "very complex, very difficult issue," and that he couldn't go into all the details.

But Putin said both leaders had told him "in so many words" that they are committed to fresh talks.

Stops short of troops

Bush met with Chinese president Jiang Zemin earlier in the day

In the brief session with reporters, South Korea's Kim did not mention his North Korean counterpart, focusing instead on his support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

"We will continue to take a leading role," Kim said.

U.S. warplanes have bombed Afghanistan for nearly two weeks to try to flush out Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in last month as attacks, and his ruling Taliban hosts.

South Korea has been a staunch American ally since the Korean War and sent troops to support the United States fight during the Vietnam War.

America too stations tens of thousands of troops in the South.

While Kim stopped short of committing Korean soldiers again, he did say his country was ready to discuss any ways it could help the United States.

Kim said he had agreed to send a mobile medical team, transport equipment and military liaison officers.

Pleased

In just 24 hours in Shanghai, Bush has said he is pleased with the support he has garnered from both China and South Korea.

"You have heard form two leaders today, both of whom stand side by side in their support of the American people," Bush said.

Bush is pushing for support from all 21 Asian and Pacific leaders in his anti-terror fight.

"I've talked to most of them by phone, and I can tell you that their support is near unanimous," he said, not only for the fight against terrorism but also for the ongoing U.S. strikes in Afghanistan.

Muslim APEC nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia have criticized the U.S. military response, though both countries have pledged their support to clamp down on terrorism.

The APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.