CORAL GABLES, Fla., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- President Bush disagreed with Sen. John Kerry that bilateral talks with North Korea would help resolve nuclear proliferation in their debate in Florida.
Bush said the bilateral policy in place before he took office was "not being honored by the North Koreans." Instead he supported multi-country talks with South Korea, Japan, Russia and China.
"And I think this will work. It's not going to work if we open up a dialogue with Kim Jong Il. That's what he wants. He wants to unravel the six-party talks or the five -- the five-nation coalition that's sending him a clear message," said Bush.
Kerry rebutted saying that Bush abandoned North Korean talks for two years by reversing his administration's policy to continue talks after Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to South Korea.
"While they didn't talk at all, the fuel rods came out, the inspectors were kicked out, the television cameras were kicked out, and today there are four to seven nuclear weapons in the hands of North Korea," said Kerry.
