I must be missing something of significance here
Bush Rules Out Non-Aggression Pact With North Korea
By REUTERS
Filed at 8:19 a.m. ET
BANGKOK (Reuters) - In a shift aimed at jumpstarting stalled North Korean nuclear talks, President Bush said Sunday he was willing to give North Korea security assurances in exchange for it abandoning its nuclear weapons program.
Bush ruled out a formal non-aggression pact with Pyongyang, which North Korea has set as a condition for giving up its nuclear weapons program, but he acknowledged the United States was exploring a possible compromise with key allies China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.
``We think there's an opportunity to move the process forward and we're going to discuss it with our partners,'' Bush said on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the Thai capital.
``We will not have a treaty, if that's what you're asking. That's off the table,'' he said.
