Bush: “N. Korea and Syria are Brutal Regimes”

Bush: “N. Korea and Syria are Brutal Regimes”. September. 27, 2007 03:07. srkim@donga.com triplets@donga.com.

On September 25, U.S. President George W Bush described North Korea, Belarus, Syria, and Iran as “brutal regimes that deny their people fundamental rights,” and called on the international community to join in the mission of democratization of those nations.

In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, President Bush made the aforementioned description, saying, “Every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand up for people suffering under a dictatorship”. He mentioned the specific instances of dictatorship in Myanmar and Zimbabwe, but did not make any additional comment on North Korea.

He also urged the international community to expand free trade, saying, “The U.S. has signed free trade agreements with South Korea, Peru, Panama and Columbia.” He commented that the FTA with South Korea was a good agreement that incorporated, “Transparent and fair regulation, respect for private property, and ways to resolve disputes under international law.”

The second phase conference of the 6th six party talks will open in Diao Yu Tai in Beijing in September.

At this conference, held at a point when the Yongbyon nuclear facility is completely shut down, North Korea will be requested to report all its nuclear programs and to propose a time schedule for disabling all its existing nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, it is anticipated that North Korea will request the U.S. to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and to terminate the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act.