http://uk.news.yahoo.com/29062006/325/bush-koizumi-warn-n-korea-against-missile-launch.html
Bush and Koizumi warn N. Korea against missile launch
Thursday June 29, 11:08 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush
and
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
used a White House summit
on Thursday
to warn North Korea against test-firing a long-range missile.
The two leaders,
underscoring security threats
that have bound their countries closer together,
called on Pyongyang to fulfil
its "denuclearisation pledges" amid signs it may soon test a missile capable of reaching the United States.
While highlighting
the chummy relationship
he has developed with Koizumi over the past five years,
Bush took the opportunity to build on earlier U.S. threats of a harsh response
if North Korea goes ahead with a secrecy-shrouded launch.
"We both agreed
that
it's very important for us
to remain united in sending a clear message to the North Korean leader that,
first of all,
launching the missile is unacceptable,"
Bush said at a joint news conference with Koizumi.
"There's been no briefings as to what's on top of the missile.
He hasn't told anybody where the missile's going.
He has an obligation ... to those of us who are concerned about this as to what his intentions are,"
Bush said.
Koizumi said
if North Korea fired off the missile
"we would apply various pressures
But he declined to give details on any measures he had discussed with Bush.
U.S. officials have said
the North Koreans may have finished fuelling the missile.
Experts say
North Korea is developing long-range missiles to have the capability one day
to deliver a nuclear bomb,
but add Pyongyang is years away
from having such a weapons system.
The first time North Korea test-fired a long-range missile
-- in 1998 over Japan
-- it rattled financial markets
and raised fears among the Japanese.
Bush said
he and Koizumi had talked about the need to work together
"to bring a resolution to this issue about nuclear weapons,"
referring to long-stalled six-party talks
to curb
North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions.
CHINA'S MILITARY SPENDING
In a joint statement that could annoy China,
Bush and Koizumi said
they "affirmed that a robust U.S.-Japan cooperation embraces the dynamism of China,
and helps to maintain peace and tranquillity
in Northeast Asia."
The document also said
Tokyo and Washington will tackle common challenges in Asia,
including
"increasing transparency and confidence in the political, economic and military fields."
The two countries have urged Beijing
to make its rising military spending
more transparent
to clear up
any doubts
about its intentions.
Beijing, which nurses grievances
about imperial Japan's invasion
of China
in the 1930s,
has viewed some aspects
of the U.S.-Japanese security alliance
with suspicion.
China has also
refused
to hold a summit meeting with Koizumi
in protest of his annual visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine,
seen by Beijing
as a symbol of Japan's past militarism
because some convicted war criminals are
among those honoured.
Some analysts worry that
the anger
in China and also in South Korea
over Koizumi's Yasukuni pilgrimages might hamper efforts
to build unity over North Korea.
And in what may be a sign
that Washington also shared such concerns,
Bush asked Koizumi how Tokyo's ties were with Beijing,
a Japanese official told reporters.
But Koizumi criticised
the Chinese leadership's refusal to hold a summit with him,
adding
that
he was ready to talk anytime.
The wavy-haired Koizumi, 64, is seen in Japan
as a maverick with keen political instincts.
Koizumi's visit,
including a joint trip on Friday to Graceland,
home of the late Elvis Presley,
is being billed as a "sayonara summit
because Koizumi steps down in September.
Their strong friendship began during a game of catch at Camp David
in 2001
and is buoyed by a common affinity
for baseball and cowboy movies.
For Koizumi, a big fan of Elvis,
Friday's trip to Memphis
will be a special thrill.
"Officially, he's here to see the president,
but I know
the highlight of his visit will be paying his respects to the King,"
Bush joked.
(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Caren Bohan)
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