President Bush said Thursday the United States cannot be “held hostage” by North Korea’s apparent preparations for a missile launch, and slammed the regime for abducting Japanese citizens.
During a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Bush pledged to stand firm against Pyongyang.
“The Japanese cannot afford to be held hostage to rockets, and neither can the United States or any other body who loves freedom,” Bush said in the East Room of the White House. “Launching the missile is unacceptable.”
Bush railed against Kim Jong-Il, the communist dictator of North Korea, for remaining silent about his intentions regarding a long-range, Taepodong 2 missile, the fueling of which was recently detected by satellites.
“There have been no briefings as to what’s on top of the missile,” Bush said. “He hasn’t told anybody where the missile is going.”
He said Kim “has an obligation” to provide “a full briefing to those of us who are concerned about this issue as to what his intentions are.”
Koizumi agreed. “We need to try and approach the North Koreans not to launch Taepodong 2,” he said. “And should they ever launch the missile — we would apply various pressures.”
Before the press conference, Bush spent two hours talking with Koizumi about topics such as North Korea’s practice of abducting Japanese citizens.
He recalled meeting in April with Sakie Yokota, a Japanese woman whose 13-year-old daughter, Megumi, was kidnapped by North Korean agents in 1977.
Bush said that Oval Office meeting was “one of the most touching moments of my presidency.”
“It really broke my heart,” he recalled. “I just could not imagine what it would be like to have somebody have taken, you know, my daughter — one of my daughters — and never be able to see her again.
“And the woman showed such great courage, Mr. Prime Minister, when she came and shared her story with me. It took everything I could not to weep, listening to her.
“It also reminded me about the nature of the regime,” he added. “What kind of regime would kidnap people, just take them off offshore, you know? What kind of person would not care about how that woman felt?”
North Koreans officials have said they were treating Megumi Yokota for depression in 1994 when she committed suicide, a claim that has been rejected by Japan.
