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Bush Meets With Prime Minister of Japan

November 16, 2007 2:15 PM

ABC News' Jennifer Duck Reports: President Bush called Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's first visit to the White House since becoming Prime Minister an "important" visit saying, "the alliance between our two countries is rooted deeply in our strong commitments to freedom and democracy. The prime minister and I are going to keep it that way. One of the things we've decided to do is to continue to make sure the U.S.-Japanese relationship is the cornerstone of security and peace."

Regarding North Korea, Bush said the six-party talks have delivered "measurable results."

"I appreciate Japan's participation in the six-party talks. Together with China, Russia and South Korea, our two nations are pressing North Korea to fulfill its obligation to abandon all its nuclear weapons programs as well as its proliferation efforts," Bush said.

The President continued, "Hard work still remains to be done. North Korea has agreed to provide a full declaration of all its nuclear programs and proliferation activities by the end of this year. Full decoration is one of the next steps North Korea must take to keep the six- party talks moving towards the goal of a Korean peninsula without nuclear weapons."

Fukuda responded, "We agreed that Japan and the U.S. need to maintain close coordination with each other in order to achieve complete abandonment of all nuclear weapons and programs by North Korea through the six-party talks."

The two leaders also discussed the unresolved issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea over 30 years ago. "I understand, Mr. Prime Minister, how important the issue is to the Japanese people, and we will not forget the Japanese abductees nor their families," Bush said.

President Bush said there is concensus with Japan on Iran. "The Prime Minister and I agree that a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten the security of the Middle East and beyond. The two nations are united in our efforts to change the regime's behavior through diplomacy. We agree that unless Iran commits to suspend enrichment, international pressure must and will grow."

Another international issue the two leaders agreed upon is Myanmar/Burma.

"The prime minister and I condemn the regime's crackdown on democratic activists. We call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners. We're for a genuine dialogue between the regime and those who seek a democratic future for Burma," Bush said. "U.S. sanctions on the regime are in place. Japan has cancelled an aid grant. The prime minister told me his government is reviewing other aid projects to ensure that they directly benefit the people of Burma."

November 16, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (0)

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