By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
U.S. President George W. Bush says he looks forward to ``a good discussion about common issues" in Seoul next week with President Lee Myung-bak.
In Washington Wednesday, Bush spoke to a group of journalists from South Korea, Thailand and China at the White House ahead of his scheduled trip to the three nations. He will fly to Seoul Monday for his second summit with President Lee, then to Bangkok and finally to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics.
Bush also talked about the decision to change Dokdo's status from ''undesignated sovereignty" back to South Korean territory on the U.S. Board for Geographic Names Web site.
The U.S. administration will stand firm on Pyongyang's nuclear program, he said, and will not remove North Korea from the terrorism-sponsoring list unless it agrees to full verification of its nuclear program as well as proliferation. He also ruled out action that might undermine the credibility of the six-party structure as a regional framework to deal with Asian security.
Bush also mentioned North Korea's human rights, saying he will discuss North Korean escapees and human rights in his Asia trip. He said his administration has ``constantly asked China" not to send such escapees back to the North.
On the free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States, Bush also said he will continue to shore up support for the deal.
``South Korea will be all diplomacy; get a chance to see my friend, the president; and a good discussion about common issues," he told reporters.
Switching to the dispute over Dokdo's sovereignty and the designation on the U.S. geographic board's Web site, Bush said the database will be restored to show once again that Dokdo is South Korean territory. But he said Washington will ultimately leave this issue to Korea and Japan to resolve.
``We can't fix certain disputes; that will be up to the sovereign governments," he said.
``First of all, this dispute will be settled by Japan and South Korea. As to the (geographic board's) database, I asked Secretary of State (Condoleezza) Rice to review it and the database will be restored to where it was prior ― seven days ago."
``It's in our national interest that South Korea have good relations with Japan. And I understand there are tensions. I listen very carefully to the respected leaders."
On the stalled free trade agreement, Bush said he will reiterate to President Lee his commitment to get the accord ratified by the U.S. Congress.
On North Korea's denuclearization, Bush emphasized the importance of a multilateral framework and developing a verification process for Pyongyang's nuclear activities.
``Multilateral diplomacy is the best way to peacefully solve an issue such as the nuclearization, weaponization or desire to have a nuclear weapons program by the North Koreans," Bush said.
``We are very clear that in order to move forward in the phase that we're now in -- and this is a phased-in deal ― that there must be verification that we're all happy with, a verification mechanism on not only plutonium, but also highly enriched uranium, as well as proliferation."
On if North Korean escapees and human rights will be discussed, Bush answered, ``Absolutely."
``I discuss it with all leaders. And I am ― for example, when it comes to China, we have constantly asked China not to send people back into North Korea. I want to thank the South Korean people for welcoming their brothers and sisters who have been able to escape."