    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [July 30, 2008]
    [Pages 1081-1083]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With Jei Choon Yun of KBS TV in South
    Korea
    July 30, 2008

    President's Visit to South Korea

        Mr. Yun. You are scheduled to go pay a visit to Korea next month.
    And if you have any particular message to Korean people, let us know,
    please.
        The President. My message is, one, I'm honored to come back. I'm
    looking forward to visiting with your President; I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful country. And
    I bring a message of friendship. And we've had a long history together.
    We've got many ties, whether it be economic ties or political ties or
    ties of people on both--people who live here in America that were born
    in Korea, and people who got relatives in Korea. There's a lot of ties.
    And we've had good relations in the past, we'll have good relations in
    the present, and good relations in the future.

    Island of Dokdo/South Korea-Japan Relations

        Mr. Yun. I'd like to ask you about the--[inaudible]. U.S. Agency for
    Geographic Names recently changed the country code of Dokdo from South
    Korea to undesignated sovereignty.
        The President. Yes.
        Mr. Yun. From the Korean perspective, it may be seen as an act of
    acknowledging

    [[Page 1082]]

    the Japanese claim of the ownership of the island. So are you willing to
    reverse the--restore the original name or Korean sovereignty?
        The President. First of all, this issue must be solved between South
    Korea and Japan. Secondly, I asked Secretary Rice to review the data, and I'm pleased to tell you
    that the data has been--the whole issue has been restored the way it was
    7 days ago.
        Mr. Yun. Oh, really? Very good.
        The President. Yes.

    Trade

        Mr. Yun. Thank you very much, sir.
        In regard to free trade agreement, do you have any specific plan to
    persuade the Congress leadership into moving forward the approval of FTA
    within this year?
        The President. First of all, the goal is to get it done this year. I
    told your President I would like to get it done
    this year. I am pressing hard. I am constantly talking about the
    importance of a free trade agreement with Korea to our interests.
    Yesterday I met with important business leaders of the Korean-U.S.
    Business Dialogue Council. I, one, made it clear to them that I am very
    much for this, and secondly, I made it clear to them that we've got to
    work a common strategy, that they've got to help us, on Capitol Hill,
    move the issue.
        I've told the President I make no promises,
    except I'll push as hard as I possibly can to get it done before I leave
    the Presidency.

    North Korea

        Mr. Yun. Now I'd like to ask you about Korean-North Korea issue.
        The President. Please.
        Mr. Yun. And the verification protocol is not completed yet. If you
    don't have the protocol until the 11th of next month, are you willing to
    reverse the process to rescind North Korea as state sponsor of terror?
        The President. Yes, our position is very clear, and we've made that
    clear to our partners in the six-party talks, including your Government,
    that we expect there to be a verification regime that we're comfortable
    with--not only us, but that we're both comfortable with. After all,
    we're partners. And it's verification not only of a plutonium program,
    but verification of a highly enriched uranium program and verification
    of proliferation activities.
        And it's very important for us to get confidence that we're being
    told the full extent of--the questions we're answering are being--asking
    are being answered fully. And so verification is a very important test
    as to whether or not North Korea wants to honor the agreement that they
    agreed to with all of us.
        And so, you know, some say, ``Well, he just wants to move forward.''
    And the answer is, no, I want to have results. And it's very important
    for us to get something that we're comfortable with.

    Six-Party Talks

        Mr. Yun. And do you think the six-party nuclear negotiations can
    move toward to the third phase of dismantlement during your Presidency?
        The President. Well, it all depends on whether or not we can
    complete the second phase. And that second phase is going to--what
    matters in the second phase is whether or not we get a good verification
    process. There's a lot of people in this country saying, ``Why are you
    going forward when you can't trust them?'' And my answer is, why don't
    we go forward with a process that will enable us to trust them? And so
    in order for us to get to the third phase we got to get through the
    second phase. And I'll answer that question better when North Korea
    honors their commitments. We'll honor our commitment, but they've got to
    honor their commitment.
        And as you mentioned in your question, are we comfortable with the
    verification? Well, until we are comfortable, then we don't move
    forward.

    [[Page 1083]]

    North Korea

        Mr. Yun. Will North Korea give up their nuclear weapons ultimately?
        The President. Do I think they will? That's the question. That's the
    fundamental question. And I can't answer that for you. I know that it's
    good to put a process in place that gives them a chance to, in return
    for a different relationship with all of us. In the past it was, okay,
    we'll give you something, North Korea, and hope you respond. What's
    changed is, you must honor your agreement, and then you can have a
    better relation.
        And there's a lot--North Korea is the most sanctioned nation in the
    world. And we've agreed to take them off just one aspect of many of the
    other restrictions placed on them, if they perform. And so, to answer
    your question, I hope they give up their weapons programs. It will be
    good for the North Korean people if they do. There will be a different
    relationship between the United States and all the parties involved if
    the leader makes that choice. But it's his choice
    to make. We've made our choice; South Korea and the United States,
    China, Japan and Russia have made our choice.

    North Korea-U.S. Relations

        Mr. Yun. This sense that normalization of relations between U.S. and
    North Korea is still a long way to go. Do you have any plan to establish
    liaison offices in Pyongyang and Washington?
        The President. No.
        Mr. Yun. No?
        The President. No, we don't. Our focus is on this relationship
    that--with North Korea, bound in the six-party talks.
        Is that good? Very good.
        Mr. Yun. Thank you very much.
        The President. You made some news today.
        Mr. Yun. Yes. Thank you very much for the news.
        The President. Yes. Absolutely.

    Note: The interview was taped at 2:15 p.m. in the Map Room at the White
    House for later broadcast. In his remarks, the President referred to
    President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of
    North Korea. The transcript was released by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on July 31. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of this interview.