Bush Spars with Roh in Sydney

There was a tense moment(CNN) between Pres. Bush and Roh while discussing N. Korea during a meeting in Sydney.

33 Comments

  1. Hatch SZ your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 6:37 pm | Permalink

    Even if NK had no nuclear weapons program, I don’t think Bush would be talking about an end. Anyhow, has the SK government been pushing an official end to the war? Why would Bush have been expected to talk about an end in such a forum? Seems like a non-sequitur.

    Roh, the only guy who can make Bush not seem scatter-brained.

  2. Posted September 7, 2007 at 6:52 pm | Permalink

    Roh and his gang of Pyongyang fifth-columnists are in their final days. Watch for more provocations out of them, as this is their last chance to alienate the United States and undermine the interests of the illegitimate “Republic of Korea” puppet state by prompting a Yankee withdrawal. (The next President’s first order of business will be to restore the illusion of “Korean friendship and alliance” and keep the gravy train rolling. Next order of business will be jailing as many Roh government figures as can be caught before they emigrate to the United States.)

    Just watch: The Leader commands it!

  3. SomeguyinKorea your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 7:11 pm | Permalink

    “Can you be clearer?”. Is that a Korean idiom that means, “Give me another answer because that one doesn’t make you look bad”?

  4. Posted September 7, 2007 at 7:14 pm | Permalink

    Funny thing is, mins0306, do you sense the “tense moment” from any of the Yonhap reports?

    http://news.naver.com/hotissue.....0907183142

    I didn’t, either. Same goes with the English version:

    http://english.yonhapnews.co.k.....0315F.HTML

    Odd, no?

  5. Posted September 7, 2007 at 7:47 pm | Permalink

    Here’s the Associated Press report:
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....HGvjus0NUE

  6. Posted September 7, 2007 at 7:51 pm | Permalink

    Yer right, totally different Spin between the Yonhap and AP stories on this… a textbook cases of spins.

  7. slim your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 7:59 pm | Permalink

    Just listened to the exchange on Nat’l Public Radio. Hard to spin an exchange that was broadcast publicly.

    Perhaps Roh’s new press curbs are being applied to Korean media overseas.

  8. a-letheia your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 8:02 pm | Permalink

    Could this be the fault of a very bad, undiplomatic translator?:

    “I think I did not hear President Bush mention the — a declaration to end the Korean War just now,” Roh said as cameras clicked and television cameras rolled.

  9. a-letheia your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 8:04 pm | Permalink

    … That could explain the different interpretations… This doesn’t have a “spin” vibe.

  10. slim your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 8:06 pm | Permalink

    We won’t have to worry about Roh’s summit with Kim Jong-il: They speak the same language.

  11. tmc1233 your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 8:37 pm | Permalink

    WTF? Why doesn’t SK sign a TRUCE before yakking about the US signing a peace treaty? Or, why don’t Noh and Co. sign a peace treaty with their bed buddies rather than resorting to the tired and unoriginal “blame everything on the US” ploy?

  12. Warren your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 9:39 pm | Permalink

    The tension wasn’t so much in the verbage as in the deadpan stares that they gave one another as the interpreters spoke.

    It was very similar to what a Korean truckdriver in Ulsan will give if he doesn’t like your driving.

  13. a-letheia your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 9:45 pm | Permalink

    Well, after listening, I’d say I was wrong…Noh was just being Noh.

    Reminds me of how he wagged his finger at the Prime Minister of Japan in front of the cameras.

  14. Warren your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 9:47 pm | Permalink

    Opps….the story and photo is posted on Drudge on.

    It’s gone to the next level. :-)

  15. mins0306 your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 9:59 pm | Permalink

    #4.

    Yes, Robert. Odd but not surprising considering the SOP of the Korean media. I came home from work and asked my wife whether she had seen the spat between Bush and Roh on the 9 o’clock news. She gave me a blank stare and said “What are you talking about?” It was at this point that I realized that the Korean media had filtered things out.

  16. hoju_saram your flag
    Posted September 7, 2007 at 10:21 pm | Permalink

    From a CNN anchorman, just saw it now: “Obviously there is a degree of domestic politics involved in the statements from president Roh…”

    You don’t say. How about you make “clearer” your position on the North Korean death camps, Mr Roh?

    BTW how short is this guy? He looked like a 10-year old with elephantitis of the head. I don’t think his feet were even touching the ground.

  17. Posted September 7, 2007 at 10:35 pm | Permalink

    Where’s Baduk these days? I miss him and his humorous hyperbole.

    He’d have a field day with this story by coming out with guns blazin’ and calling Noh a commie.

  18. globalvillageidiot your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 12:20 am | Permalink

    Amateur hour will continue at least until Dec…

  19. mondoo your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 12:31 am | Permalink

    nothing unexpected here. as usual roh comes across as the lecherous ‘old’ guy at the bar who drunkenly approaches the 20-something babe.

    “I might be wrong. I think I did not hear you accept my invitation to join me for a drink at my house,” Roh said. “Did you agree so, sweetie?”

    takes a long swig from soju bottle…

    “If you could be a little bit clearer,” he said, prompting nervous laughter from her friends and a look of annoyance from the harassed target.

  20. Posted September 8, 2007 at 2:15 am | Permalink

    I say you lock both of them in a room full of medieval weapons and open the door 30 minutes later. If only one comes out afterwards, great! If both are dead, even better.

  21. pawikirogi your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 3:21 am | Permalink

    wow, the yahoo posse is out in force!

    thank goodness for president roh confronting the butcher of baghdad. about time!

  22. Posted September 8, 2007 at 3:37 am | Permalink

    Hummm, okay.

    It’s the Butcher of Bagdad vs. the Blabbermouth Idiot from Seoul.

  23. Paul H. your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 3:54 am | Permalink

    I say the Americans should just leave the peninsula and leave the Koreans to their own peninsular “room”. That way Koreans can be completely free of having to worry about any one particular US President, and can settle things between themselves, either with medieval weapons or with hugs and kisses — as they see fit.

    And Americans can be free to be indifferent towards any juvenile insults directed by Koreans towards their country or their President.

    BTW, Wang, I finally got around to looking at Roh’s wikipedia biography:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roh_Moo-hyun

    I didn’t realize he was self-educated, Roman Catholic, or that he had a son going for an MBA at Stanford. (Actually, now that I think about it I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some of these facts mentioned here before, but you know how it is — learning doesn’t seem to “stick” unless it is something you’ve made an effort to obtain for yourself).

    I imagine it’s possible the son might check in here to read the comments from time to time. How do you think he feels about reading comments like yours?

    Well, maybe you’re a genuinely tough guy who would tell the son to his face at the first opportunity that his father deserves to die. And maybe the son is thick-skinned enough to just shrug it off, though personally I hope he’d invite you into a locked room to settle the issue with medieval weapons.

  24. sumo294 your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 4:10 am | Permalink

    Butcher of Bagdad? Are you still commenting Wangkon936. You really must be a deeply committed liberal. Do you have anything of worth at all to write about? Everything you write is so general and so lacking in expertise. I mean, why? There are smart liberals out there who actually try to win the hearts and minds of the folks. You, however, have become a bitter old liberal that has given in to sheer anger and hatred. Please spare us the third rate paragraphs-huh? Get some rest and polish up the old noggin–eh?

  25. slim your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 4:20 am | Permalink

    Hey — the Butcher of Baghdad idiocy came from Pawi. Is there any greater way to insult a man than to put Pawi’s “thoughts” in his mouth?

    This was not really sparring. This was an OOE (obnoxious ajossi eruption) in the middle of a routine photo shoot. Usually soju is involved.

  26. mondoo your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 4:39 am | Permalink

    If Bush = “The Butcher of Baghdad”

    then that makes

    Roh = “#1 Terrorist Backer” (hostages? bribes? Taliban?)

  27. virtual wonderer your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 8:57 am | Permalink

    I am truly amazed how Bush can make Roh look reasonable.

  28. wjk your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 9:46 am | Permalink

    Liberals. Did you read this?

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6984102.stm

    Yup. It seems if you vote for Hilary Clinton or Barak Obama, you are doing what Osama bin laden wants.

    What an irony !

    But, nothing is new under the sun.

    The American liberals were willing to do exactly what Ho Chi Minh wanted. 25 years ago.

    Do not underestimate American suburbia. Rock the Vote 2004 learned this lesson in 2004.

    I expect yet another Republican President winning it without winning the megacity states.

    John McCain. US President.

  29. wjk your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 9:50 am | Permalink

    it’s also no secret that kim jong il wanted gore, kerry to win. ha

  30. slim your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 10:20 am | Permalink

    “I am truly amazed how Bush can make Roh look reasonable.”

    HUH? It’s absolutely the other way around in this case — a big gaffe by Roh, who deserved a good old-fashioned Texas bitch slap on the spot.

    Roh spoke in clear disregard for or ignorance of the 2.13 nuclear agreement and the “action for action” sequence agreed by all six parties.

    Then there’s the matter of who signed the armistice and the legal requirements for changing it.

    And then there’s the tactical common sense of not front-loading rewards for North Korea until it performs.

    And then there’s simple manners.

    Roh screwed the pooch badly in ways that can only embolden Kim Jong-il. He clearly learned nothing from the Taleban debacle.

  31. Sonagi your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 11:43 am | Permalink

    Commenters proficient in Korean can read Cheonghwadae’s version and judge for themselves. Roh’s last comment in particular was very loosely translated into English, presumably to make it more diplomatic.

    ▲ 부시 대통령 모두 발언 : 대통령 각하 시간 내주셔서 감사하다. 솔직하게 중요한 얘기를 나눴다. 우리는 양국관계에 대해서 얘기 나눴다. 굳건한 양국 관계, 그리고 아프간, 이라크 신생민주국가에 도움을 줘 감사하다는 말을 대통령께 했다. 우리는 6자회담에 대해 많은 이야기 했죠?

    6자회담 중 있었던 많은 진전들에 대해 얘기했다. 북한 지도자와 정상회담에서 만나시면 그가 우리와 함께 한 약속들을 지속적으로 이행해 주시기 바란다는 말 전해주시기 바란다. (통역 수정 : 이행해 달라고 하겠다는 말씀에 감사드린다.)

    그리고 각하와 제가 얘기를 나눈 것도 북한과 관련한 많은 재확인이 있었다. 북한 지도자가 그들의 핵 프로그램을 전면 신고하고 또 핵 프로그램을 전면 해체할 경우 많은 변화가 있을 것이다. 동북아시아에 있어 평화체계가 새롭게 설정될 것이라 생각한다. 그러나 앞으로 우리가 해야 할 부분이 많이 남아 있다. 그것에 대해 긍정적으로 생각하고 있다.

    ▲ 노 대통령 : 부시 대통령 말씀처럼 6자회담과 북핵, 한미 양자관계에 대해 많은 얘기를 나눴다. 이 같은 의제를 다루기 전에 이라크에서 평화를 정착시키기 위해 부시 대통령께서 노력하고 있는 것에 대해 지지한다는 것을 다시 한 번 표명했다.

    그리고 부시 대통령께서 비자면제 프로그램과 관련해 매우 전향적이고 적극적 조치를 취해준 데 대해 매우 감사하다는 말씀을 드렸다.

    6자회담이 매우 낙관적인 전망을 하게 해 대단히 기쁘고 의미 있게 평가하고 그것을 미국 정부와 부시 대통령께서 한반도와 동북아시아 평화를 만들겠다는 전략적 결단의 성과라고 저는 평가하겠다.

    2005년 9월19일 9.19선언에서 한반도 평화체제를 위한 협상에 관해서 합의한 바 있다. 2006년 11월 베트남에서 부시대통령이 한반도 종전선언에 관한 의지를 다시 한 번 표명했다. 그 문제에 대해 다시 대화를 나눴고, 거듭 한반도에 전쟁시대를 종결하고 한반도 평화체제를 만들기 위해 북핵 해결이 되면 신속히 다음 단계로 신속 이행할 준비가 되어 있다는 말씀은 확인하셨다.

    6자회담이 순조롭게 진행될 경우 그에 이어서 동북아 다자간 안보체제를 위한 협의를 진행해 나갈 것이라는데 대해서도 의견을 같이 했다. 그리고 남북정상회담에 관해 남북관계와 6자회담이 성공적으로 수행되도록 6자회담과 함께 남북관계와 6자회담이 상호 보완적으로 촉진하는 방향으로 진행될 것이라는 것을 제가 말씀드렸다.

    각하께서 조금 전 말씀하실 때 한반도 평화체제 내지 종전선언에 대해 말씀을 빠뜨리신 것 같은데, 우리 국민들이 듣고 싶어 하니까 명확히 말씀을 해주셨으면 한다.

    ▲ 부시 대통령 : 제가 말씀드리고 싶은 것은 우리가 평화체제 제안을 하느냐 안하느냐가 중요한 것은 김정일 국방위원장에게 달려 있다. 무기를 없애고 검증 가능해야 한다. 그런 목표를 향해 진전이 이뤄지고 있지만 아무래도 결정은 그쪽에서 해야 할 것이다.

    ▲ 노 대통령 = 똑같은 이야기이다. 똑같은 얘기인데, 김정일 위원장이나 한국 국민들은 그 다음 얘기를 듣고 싶어 한다. (웃음)

    ▲ 부시 대통령 = 더 이상 어떻게 분명히 말씀드릴지 모르겠다. 한국에서 전쟁은 우리가 끝낼 수 있다. 하지만 그러기 위해서는 김정일 씨가 그의 무기에 관해서 검증 가능하도록 폐기해야 할 것 같다.

    http://www.president.go.kr/cwd.....90dea1e154

  32. Zonath your flag
    Posted September 8, 2007 at 1:45 pm | Permalink

    Yup. It seems if you vote for Hilary Clinton or Barak Obama, you are doing what Osama bin laden wants.

    So? Better to have a mind of your own and once in a while concur with a terrorist than to be blindly contrarian and let them control you.

  33. wookinponub your flag
    Posted September 9, 2007 at 7:13 pm | Permalink

    Is Celebrity Death Match still running?

4 Trackbacks

  1. By DPRK Studies on September 7, 2007 at 8:53 pm

    Bush and Roh “Spar” about Korean War Peace Treaty…

    CVID isn’t dead - and both nuclear “programs” and “weapons” are named (I hope someone tells Chris Hill):
    In a testy public exchange Friday with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, U.S. President George W. Bush said the United States would f…

  2. [...] is definitely getting around.  It is currently on the front page of the Drudge Report now.  The Marmot and Nomad have a postings up on this as well. KU Studies looks at the current US-ROK relationship [...]

  3. By The Marmot’s Hole » Shoot the Translator on September 8, 2007 at 1:09 pm

    [...] White House said yesterday’s “spar” between Bush and Roh in Sydney was due to a translation [...]

  4. By DPRK Studies on September 9, 2007 at 6:56 am

    What Roh Actually Said to Bush in Sydney…

    As it turns out, jokes about Roh Moo-hyun being North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s spokesman aren’t that far off the mark.
    Commenter Sonagi has provided a link to the official South Korean version of the Bush-Roh exchange in Sydney, Australia …

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