Netters
After the Iraq Fiasco leading up to the invasion of Iraq, with all the lies about WMD, is Bush CREDIBLE ENOUGH so much so that the world must now believe BUSH when he roars about North Korea?
I, for one hates to be lied to. ..the world hates to be lied to. And the world is not going to believe Bush! Indeed we cannot conclusively determine that this time around BUSH is NOT LYING!
Matek
WASHINGTON (July 15) - The Bush administration said Tuesday it is a serious matter that North Korea claims it has completed producing enough plutonium to make nuclear bombs. The administration said it could not verify the information and would try to deal with the issue through diplomatic discussions.
''North Korea has made a lot of claims in the past and it is not something at this time that we can confirm the accuracy of,'' White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
He said the United States would continue working with China, Japan and South Korea ''toward our shared objective of a complete, verifiable and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.''
North Korea made its declaration last week in New York in a meeting of North Korean diplomats and Jack Pritchard, a State Department official who handles North Korean issues.
Pyongyang's claim poses a major challenge for President Bush, who has flatly stated that a nuclear-armed North Korea will not be tolerated.
''We will not submit to blackmail or grant inducements to the north to live up to its obligations,'' McClellan said. ''North Korea has a clear choice between two paths. The international community has made clear that continued pursuit of nuclear weapons will only lead to further isolation and a deteriorating situation for the regime in Pyongyang. The United States and North Korea's neighbors have indicated we are prepared to talk to the North about a better path based on the elimination of its nuclear weapons program.''
Asked if Bush might resort to military force against North Korea, McClellan said, ''The president never takes options off the table, but it's something that we want to address in a multilateral way.''
AP-NY-07-15-03 1102EDT
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