BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The United States and Russia agreed Friday on the need for concerted efforts to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons drive, U.S. officials said.
Meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Busan, U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed ways to bridge differences on the six-nation talks aimed at convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs.
The United States and Russia, which have participated in the six-nation talks, remain at odds over how to address the standoff. They have also differed over Iran's nuclear program.
In the summit, Bush and Putin also agreed not to allow Iran to promote uranium and other nuclear-related processing programs, said U.S. officials accompanying Bush on his visit here.
Bush, who traveled to Japan ahead of his Busan trip, is scheduled to visit Beijing to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao. U.S. officials said Bush's Asian trip was focused on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
