International Condemnation Of North Korea

There has been a wave of criticism for the North Korean missile barrage. Japan and South Korea have already imposed some economic sanctions and the UN Security Council met this morning in emergency session. President Bush is urging the North Koreans to abandon their missile program.

The North Koreans "have isolated themselves further" by the missile tests they undertook early today, Mr. Bush said, vowing to work with allies of the United States to pressure North Korea to "verifiably abandon its weapons programs."

As he has before, Mr. Bush said the Pyongyang dictatorship can only help itself by doing so. "The North Korean government can join the community of nations and improve its lot," Mr. Bush said. "It's their choice to make."

The president spoke as the United Nations Security Council met in emergency session to consider a resolution condemning North Korea for test-firing seven missiles early today, including an intercontinental missile that failed 42 seconds after it was launched.

Mr. Bush's remarks, delivered as he met in the Oval Office with President Mikhail Saakasvili of Georgia, seemed calibrated to point out a failure in the North Korean experiment while reiterating the United States' concern over the launches.

Noting that a North Korean intercontinental missile "tumbled into the sea" after a short flight, he quickly said that fact "doesn't, frankly, diminish my desire to solve this problem."

When he was asked what diplomatic steps could be taken to further isolated a country that is already one of the most insular in the world, Mr. Bush replied somewhat indirectly, saying that he was "deeply concerned" about the plight of ordinary North Koreans, who have been suffering from shortages of basic necessities for years, even as its leadership spends heavily to maintain a sizable army.

Mr. Bush said the "international community" must continue to pressure Kim Jong Il, the North Korean dictator, to renounce his missile ambitions. "There is a better way forward for his people," Mr. Bush said.

The depraved regime in North Korea is apparently more than willing to starve it's own people to fund massive wastes of money like their missile program.