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Technorati"We are taking the matter very seriously," Perino said Wednesday. "We would hope that they would change their minds."
Bush's Bangkok remarks devote only a few sentences to criticism for the "tyranny" in Myanmar, Thailand's neighbor, which is ruled by a military junta. He called for the release of the country's democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as other political prisoners.
Though Samak, the Thai prime minister, regards himself as a friend of Myanmar's generals, Bush planned to heap praise on his Thai hosts, calling the country a leader in the region and saluting them for restoration of democracy.
This, Bush says in marking 175 years of U.S.-Thai relations, "has proved that liberty and law reign here in the `Land of the Free.'"
A bloodless 2006 army coup toppled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin from office. The interim government relinquished power after more than a year in office, allowing a democratic election last December that saw Thaksin's ally Samak sweep into power. Samak has been accused of trying to change the constitution to hold onto power and to prevent Thaksin from facing corruption-related charges.
Bush kicked off the last Asia tour of his presidency in South Korea.
From there, at Lee's side, he offered poverty-wracked North Korea hope that it could someday share in its southern neighbor's economic prosperity and spoke of a future in which it is no longer part of the "axis of evil" he first outlined in 2002.
First, though, he said the reclusive Stalinist regime must meet the step-by-step denuclearization demands contained in a framework agreement reached in six-party talks involving both Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia. The North must also improve its human rights record, Bush said.
"North Korea traps its people in misery and isolation," the president said.
North Korea expects Bush to remove it from the U.S. list of terror-sponsoring countries as soon as next weekend, as the president said he would when the North destroyed its nuclear reactor cooling tower in June. That offer has always been contingent on North Korea providing a full account of its nuclear activities.
Bush said North Korea — which has a history of unpredictability and has repeatedly used negotiations over its nuclear program to wring aid and concessions from the West — must first do its agreed-upon part and accept international terms for verifying its dismantlement efforts. "I don't know whether or not they're going to give up their weapons," Bush said. "I really don't know. I don't think either of us knows."
Said Lee, "I have faith we will be able to move to the verification process, then to the next step."
The North, which exploded a nuclear device in 2006, is believed by experts to have produced enough weapons-grade plutonium to make as many as 10 nuclear bombs, and the U.S. has accused Pyongyang of running a second weapons program based on uranium. Actual destruction of weapons — the ultimate goal of six-party talks with North Korea — is months away at the least.
Lee, a pro-American leader who took office in February, has seen his approval ratings tumble after lifting a ban on U.S. beef imports despite public fears about its safety. The public outcry prompted street protests that drew attention worldwide. But opposition has settled since Lee made changes, and the leaders even ate American beef at a luncheon hosted by Lee.
Associated Press writer Paul Alexander contributed to this story from Seoul, South Korea.
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