    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [October 14, 2006]
    [Pages 1852-1853]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    October 14, 2006

        Good morning. Earlier this week, the Government of North Korea
    proclaimed to the world that it had conducted a successful nuclear
    weapons test. In response to North Korea's provocative actions, America
    is working with our partners in the region and in the United Nations
    Security Council to ensure that there are serious repercussions for the
    North Korean regime.
        North Korea has been pursuing nuclear weapons and defying its
    international commitments for years. In 1993, North Korea announced that
    it was withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The United
    States negotiated with North Korea and reached a bilateral agreement in
    1994: North Korea committed to giving up its pursuit of nuclear weapons
    in exchange for help with peaceful nuclear power.
        After I came to office, we discovered that North Korea had been
    violating this agreement for some time by continuing work on a covert
    nuclear weapons program. My administration confronted the North Korea
    regime with this evidence in 2002, and the North Koreans subsequently
    walked away from the 1994 agreement.
        So my administration decided to take a new approach. We brought
    together other nations in the region in an effort to resolve the
    situation through multilateral diplomacy. The logic behind this approach
    is clear: North Korea's neighbors have the most at stake, and they are
    North Korea's principal sources of food, energy, and trade, so it makes
    sense to enlist them in the effort to get the North Korean regime to end
    its nuclear program.
        This diplomatic effort was called the six-party talks, and these
    talks included North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the
    United States. In September of last year, these diplomatic efforts
    resulted in a wide-ranging joint statement that offered a resolution to
    the problem and a better life for the North Korean people. In this joint
    statement, North Korea committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and
    existing nuclear programs. North Korea was offered the prospect of
    normalized relations with Japan and the United States, as well as
    economic cooperation in energy, trade, and investment. And the United
    States affirmed that we have no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula
    and no intention to attack or invade North Korea.
        Unfortunately, North Korea failed to act on its commitment. And with
    its actions this week, the North Korean regime has once again broken its
    word, provoked an international crisis, and denied its people the
    opportunity for a better life. We are working for a resolution to this
    crisis. Nations around the world, including our partners in the six-
    party talks, agree on the need for a strong United Nations Security
    Council resolution that will require North Korea to dismantle its
    nuclear programs. This resolution should also specify measures to
    prevent North Korea from importing or exporting nuclear or missile
    technologies. And it should prevent financial transactions or asset
    transfers that would help North Korea develop its nuclear or missile
    capabilities.
        By passing such a resolution, we will send a clear message to the
    North Korean regime that its actions will not be tolerated. And we will
    give the nations with the closest ties to North Korea--China and South
    Korea--a framework to use their leverage to pressure Pyongyang and
    persuade its regime to change course.
        As we pursue a diplomatic solution, we are also reassuring our
    allies in the region that America remains committed to their security.
    We have strong defense alliances with Japan and South Korea, and the
    United States will meet these commitments. And in response to North
    Korea's

    [[Page 1853]]

    provocation, we will seek to increase our defense cooperation with our
    allies, including cooperation on ballistic missile defense to protect
    against North Korean aggression and cooperation to prevent North Korea
    from importing or exporting nuclear or missile technologies.
        Our goals remain clear: peace and security in Northeast Asia and a
    nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. We will do what is necessary to achieve
    these goals. We will support our allies in the region; we will work with
    the United Nations; and together we will ensure that North Korea faces
    real consequences if it continues down its current path.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on October 13 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 14. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    October 13 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.