September 07, 2007

Bush & Roh: Lost In Translation?

One day after President Bush's "friendly" meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao amid growing tensions between China and the U.S., Bush found himself in an awkward exchange with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in front of reporters covering their meeting in Sydney.

CNN reports this morning that the two leaders' press conference on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit began on a sunny note, with Roh characterizing their talks about the six-party negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program as "positive" and "meaningful."

But the tone shifted when Roh began pressing Bush on a 54-year-old issue: the Korean War.

When Bush told reporters that the U.S. will not consider that conflict officially over until North Korea ends its nuclear program, Roh shot back, "I think I did not hear President Bush mention the -- a declaration to end the Korean War just now." Bush asserted that he thought his position was clear.

"I can't make it any more clear, Mr. President. We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War," Bush said. "That will end -- will happen when" Kim Jong Il "verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons."

AP is characterizing the incident as a "testy exchange," but in the video, the two leaders appeared to remain calm and amiable as they spoke through their interpreters. The White House chalked the incident up to a failure to communicate.

"I really think the interpreter must not have conveyed the president's comments entirely clearly," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in an e-mail downplaying the exchange.

Posted at 7:27 AM
Posted to: Asia, President Bush, South Korea
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