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TOYAKO, Japan - US President George W. Bush arrived in Japan on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on the next steps in the North Korean nuclear dispute ahead of a summit of industrialised powers.
Bush hoped to soothe Japanese anger at US easing of pressure on North Korea despite what Tokyo says is not a full accounting of Japanese citizens abducted by the communist regime's agents, according to US officials.
"I regard abduction as abhorrent behaviour," Bush, who has moved to take North Korea off the US list of state terrorism sponsors in return for its partial accounting of its nuclear programmes, said Wednesday.
"The decision on the list in no way excuses North Korean behaviour. And so my only promise is that we'll keep it very much a part of a process, that what you saw was only a first step," he told Fuji television.
Bush also aimed to dispel any Japanese doubts that Tokyo remains Washington's indispensable ally in East Asia despite the rise of China and diplomatic arrangements like the six-country talks on North Korea.
"The cornerstone of US policy is good, strong relations with Japan," the US president said Wednesday.
"That's not to say we can't have good relations with China."Bush was to attend his last summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations, as well as meet with leaders of China, South Korea and Russia -- which with Japan are Washington's four key partners in dealing with North Korea.
"We're at a very pivotal point in the six-party process and the president and the prime minister of Japan will want to compare notes and make sure we are working on the same page," said Dennis Wilder, the top Asia hand on the US National Security Council, aboard Bush's Air Force One en route to Japan.
Wilder said talks on how best to verify the accuracy of North Korea's June 26 "declaration" of nuclear activities could be held in Beijing as early as July 11 or 12.
Bush's meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be their first since the Russian leader succeeded Vladimir Putin, and White House officials say they expect a wide-ranging conversation with a focus on Iran.
Tehran on Friday delivered its formal response to a US-backed package of incentives for the Islamic republic to halt uranium enrichment and allay Western fears that its nuclear programme hides a quest for atomic weapons.
"We're going out to consult with our allies about what Iran's response means," Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Tehran, which says its programme is entirely peaceful, has rejected a US-backed Russian proposal under which Moscow would provide Iran with fuel for a civilian nuclear effort with safeguards to ensure it is not used for weapons.
Bush will also make the case at the G8 that no global climate change pact can work without including major developing nations such as China and India, potentially butting heads with European nations pushing for stronger G8 action.
Bush, who will celebrate his 62nd birthday here on Sunday, hoped that the G8 would yield a stiff condemnation of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, as Washington pushes ahead with proposed UN sanctions against his regime.
The G8 summit was also expected to take up the battle against HIV/AIDS and other diseases in Africa and help the continent grapple with the world food crisis.
The summit is reportedly expected to yield a new system of "food reserves" to assist hungry nations.
Soaring oil prices, the situation in Myanmar, the weak dollar and other global issues were high on the agenda as well.
Bush was to push leaders at the July 7-9 summit to cope with the global food crisis by boosting shipments of food, fertilisers and seeds to afflicted countries and to reduce barriers to bio-engineered crops.
Bush's trip to Japan was his fourth visit since taking office in January 2001 and was expected to be his last before his term ends in January. -AFP/vm
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