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Bush: N.Korea must reveal its intent on missile

Posted on: Monday, 26 June 2006, 13:59 CDT

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush called on North Korea on Monday to tell the world what it has atop a missile the United States believes it is preparing to test-fire and to heed warnings not to launch it.

The White House said Bush has a number of options if North Korea fires off the missile but that the focus for now is on reaching a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Washington, which has warned of a harsh response if North Korea goes ahead with the secrecy-shrouded launch, says Pyongyang is preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile experts believe has the range to reach the United States.

"The North Koreans should notify the world of their intentions, what they have on top of that vehicle," Bush said. "So we don't know, we don't know, that's part of the problem, it's a non-transparent society that ought to be sharing its intentions with the rest of the world.

Calling such a launch "provocative," Bush said: "I was pleased to hear that the Chinese have delivered that message to the North Koreans, and we would hope that the leader in North Korea listened to the Chinese."

Members of the now-stalled six-party talks with North Korea on its nuclear program, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, have pressured Pyongyang not to carry out the missile test.

Asked whether Bush had given the order to shoot down any North Korean missile, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters: "Let's not play the 'if-when' game. The president has a number of options available to him, but the most important option right now is to work diplomacy,"

"We're hoping that there will not be a launch and that is really the focus of all efforts right now," he added.

Snow said South Korea and China, in terms of economic impact, "have far more to say about what goes on in North Korea than we do" and they should play a key role in discussions.

South Korea cautioned North Korea on Monday there would be a price to pay if it carried out the test flight.

South Korean officials have said they would be forced to reconsider fledgling economic ties with the impoverished north, which has requested 500,000 tonnes of food aid this year.

Experts say North Korea is developing long-range missiles in order to have the capability one day to deliver a nuclear bomb, but add North Korea is years away from being able to develop such a weapons system.

In Washington on Sunday, senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the Bush administration should consider direct talks with North Korea.

But Snow said such talks would effectively "reward what seems to be possible bad behavior" and that North Korea must first return to the six-party negotiations.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria in Washington and Jack Kim in Seoul)

Source: REUTERS

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