    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [November 15, 2002]
    [Page 2078]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 2078]]

    Statement on the North Korean Nuclear Weapons Program
    November 15, 2002

        I welcome yesterday's strong statement by the Korean Peninsula
    Energy Development Organization (KEDO) on the need for North Korea to
    eliminate its nuclear weapons program and its decision to suspend
    further shipment of fuel oil to North Korea beginning in December. We
    are working closely with our partners in KEDO and our friends around the
    world to address this shared challenge.
        North Korea has acknowledged that it is actively pursuing a nuclear
    weapons program based on enriched uranium. This program undermines
    regional and international security and the international
    nonproliferation regime. North Korea is also in direct violation of the
    North's commitments under the Agreed Framework, the Nuclear
    Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), its International Atomic Energy Agency
    Safeguards Agreement, and the Joint North-South Declaration on the
    Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea's clear violation
    of its international commitments will not be ignored.
        The United States hopes for a different future with North Korea. As
    I made clear during my visit to South Korea in February, the United
    States has no intention of invading North Korea. This remains the case
    today. The United States seeks friendship with the people of North
    Korea.
        In June 2001, we offered to pursue a comprehensive dialog with North
    Korea. We developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed
    our longstanding concerns, the United States was prepared to take
    important steps that would have significantly improved the lives of the
    North Korean people. Now that North Korea's covert nuclear weapons
    program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this approach.
        North Korea's nuclear weapons program is a challenge to all
    responsible nations. The leaders of the Asia-Pacific region made clear
    in a unanimous statement in October that North Korea's potential to
    benefit from participation in the international community rests upon the
    prompt and visible dismantlement of this program. We are united in our
    desire for a peaceful resolution of this situation. We are also united
    in our resolve that the only option for addressing this situation is for
    North Korea to completely and visibly eliminate its nuclear weapons
    program.