Compiled From Wire Services
U.S. President George W. Bush Tuesday described North Korea as one of the ``brutal regimes'' that oppresses its own people and urged the U.S. Congress to ratify the free trade agreement (FTA) between Seoul and Washington.
In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Bush criticized the U.N. human rights panel for its failure to speak up on these regimes in North Korea, Myanmar, Syria, Belarus and Iran.
He lumped these countries as brutal regimes, saying that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not being upheld in these countries.
Bush made the remark two days before the six-way talks are to open in Beijing to denuclearize North Korea.
Just one day before the crucial Beijing talks, the U.S. State Department plans to announce additional sanctions on North Korean entities connected to missile proliferation.
Some of the entities are believed to be linked to the Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMID), which was designated in
June 2005 in an executive order for supporting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, according to Yonhap.
AP reported Wednesday that North Korea accused the U.S. of defending Israel's recent air strike against Syria, calling the strike a grave crime that undermines regional peace and stability.
The North's criticism came after this month's air raid on unknown Syrian targets, over suspicions that the North might be providing nuclear assistance to Syria.
He pressed the U.N. ``to liberate people from tyranny and violence,'' adding that ``Every civilized nation also has a responsibility to stand up for the people suffering under a dictatorship.''
``In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people the fundamental rights enshrined in the universal declaration,'' Bush said.
He said the U.N. Human Rights Council has been silent on repression by regimes from Havana and Caracas to Pyongyang and Tehran, while focusing its criticism excessively on Israel.
Bush announced the U.S. will tighten economic sanctions on the Myanmar regime and its financial backers.
``Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma,'' he said, using another name for Myanmar. He urged the United Nations and all nations to use their diplomatic and economic leverage to help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom.
Bush also called for restructuring the U.N. Security Council, and expanding its membership to include Japan.
``We believe that Japan is well-qualified for permanent membership on the Security Council, and that other nations should be considered as well,'' he said.
Bush also said that the international community now has a historic chance to open markets around the world by concluding a successful Doha round of trade talks, urging leaders to exercise flexibility and make hard decisions.
He said America will continue to pursue agreements that open trade and investment wherever it can, naming free trade agreements signed with South Korea, Peru, Colombia and Panama.
``These are good agreements, and they are now ready for a congressional vote, and I urge the Congress to approve them as soon as possible,'' Bush said in the speech.