[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 41 (Monday, October 16, 2006)]
[Pages 1767-1768]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Situation in North Korea

October 9, 2006

    Last night the Government of North Korea proclaimed to the world 
that it had conducted a nuclear test. We're working to

[[Page 1768]]

confirm North Korea's claim. Nonetheless, such a claim itself 
constitutes a threat to international peace and security. The United 
States condemns this provocative act. Once again North Korea has defied 
the will of the international community, and the international community 
will respond.
    This was confirmed this morning in conversations I had with leaders 
of China and South Korea, Russia, and Japan. We reaffirmed our 
commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, and all of us agreed that 
the proclaimed actions taken by North Korea are unacceptable and deserve 
an immediate response by the United Nations Security Council.
    The North Korean regime remains one of the world's leading 
proliferator of missile technology, including transfers to Iran and 
Syria. The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to 
states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the 
United States, and we would hold North Korea fully accountable of the 
consequences of such action.
    The United States remains committed to diplomacy, and we will 
continue to protect ourselves and our interests. I reaffirmed to our 
allies in the region, including South Korea and Japan, that the United 
States will meet the full range of our deterrent and security 
commitments.
    Threats will not lead to a brighter future for the North Korean 
people nor weaken the resolve of the United States and our allies to 
achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Today's claim by 
North Korea serves only to raise tensions, while depriving the North 
Korean people of the increased prosperity and better relations with the 
world offered by the implementation of the joint statement of the six-
party talks. The oppressed and impoverished people of North Korea 
deserve that brighter future.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 9:58 a.m. in the Diplomatic Reception Room 
at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to President Hu Jintao 
of China; President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea; President Vladimir 
Putin of Russia; and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.