US President George W. Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun agreed yesterday talks should be held to replace the 1950-53 Korea War truce with a peace treaty and said a nuclear North Korea will not be tolerated. As part of a diplomatic dance aimed at advancing the long-running North Korea nuclear issue, Bush and Roh said they hoped parallel talks on the nuclear crisis and peace treaty would complement each other. ?There?s a real possibility that by working together, at some point in time the peninsula will be united and at peace? Bush said.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because they have never signed a peace treaty. In a joint news conference in the ancient Korean capital of Kyongju, Roh said he and Bush agreed on the fundamental principle that North Korea must disarm, with the next round of the often stalled talks scheduled for December at the earliest. ?With regard to the North Korea nuclear issue, we reiterated that a nuclear-armed North Korea will not be tolerated, and reaffirmed that the issue should be resolved through peaceful and diplomatic means,? he said.

The two leaders had a long discussion about the details and tactics. Bush stuck to his position that no help on building an electricity-producing light water reactor should be given to North Korea until after it dismantles its nuclear programs. ?We?ll consider the light water reactor at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is after they have verifiably given up their nuclear weapons and/or programs,? Bush said.

Light water reactor

In what appeared to be a breakthrough deal in September, North Korea said it would disarm in exchange for aid and security guarantees. It is also demanding a light-water reactor for civilian use. In a spirit of comity between two leaders who do not always see eye to eye on every issue, Bush and Roh and their wives toured the Bulguksa Temple that dates back to 751.

The two leaders met ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Pusan, which US officials hope will send a signal to advance world trade talks under the Doha round that are facing difficulties over agricultural subsidies. Bush, beset at home with political woes led by waning American support for the Iraq war, is on a weeklong trip that also includes stops in China and Mongolia. In Kyoto, Japan on Wednesday, he publicly tweaked China, a key ally in the six-party North Korea talks, saying Taiwan has a model democracy and that Beijing needs to undertake political reforms.

A joint statement after Bush?s meeting with Roh said discussions on a peace treaty should be held separately from the six-party talks on North Korea?s nuclear programs, without specifying the countries that would take part. The two Koreas, China and the United States ? the main combatants in the Korea War ? began talks in Geneva in December, 1997 on a peace treaty. The talks collapsed the following year, partly over North Korea?s insistence that US withdrawal of forces from the Korean peninsula be put on the formal agenda.

Those four countries along with Japan and Russia are taking part in the six-party talks on ending North Korea?s nuclear programs. ?The two leaders agreed these peace treaty talks should improve confidence and reduce military tension on the Korean peninsula,? the Korean-language version of the statement said.

A senior US official said peace treaty talks depended on progress in the nuclear talks. ?No one is going to rush to the negotiating table right now. North Korea needs to take steps toward denuclearization and hopefully at that point we could have a conversation,? the official said.

Caren BOHAN Jack KIM

BANQUET MENU

Ginseng salad fit for tired Pacific Rim leaders

■ Mushroom wine, chestnut porridge and all the spicy kimchi a Pacific Rim power broker could possibly want will be on the menu for a banquet aimed to add pep to APEC leaders, organisers said on yesterday.

The concept of the banquet tonight for leaders of 21 economies at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Pusan is ?beautiful Korean dishes with the power to revitalise?. The likes of US President George W. Bush, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin will sample the gourmet Korean dishes prepared by about 100 cooks. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun will raise a toast to the leaders with the local speciality of mushroom wine, which is a rice-based liquor that has been mixed with mushrooms to add a deep aroma to the drink. The meal is as follows: The leaders will start with a scallop and ginseng salad, followed by chestnut porridge. The main courses will be grilled king prawns and grilled South Korean beef with pine mushrooms. There will be a special steamed rice served with the meal as well as plenty of seasonal vegetables and the national dish of kimchi, which is pickled vegetables such as white cabbage that have been packed with garlic, ginger and hot peppers. To finish it all off, the leaders will dine on a variety of pastries and sample a sweet Korean traditional wine made from black raspberries. ?The rich protein found in the seafood and the restorative powers of the ginseng will help the leaders recover from their long journeys,? organisers said in a press release. The leaders will also have the chance to feel the special powers of a sauvignon blanc from a US vineyard and a cabernet sauvignon from Chile.