By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

South Korea Wednesday praised U.S. President George W. Bush for comments defending Washington’s diplomatic approach toward the North Korean nuclear standoff against domestic calls for military action.

``President Bush’s remarks are meaningful in that he reaffirmed the principle of resolving the North’s nuclear issue peacefully and diplomatically,’’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon said during a briefing.

``I think this will play a helpful role in creating a healthy atmosphere for resolving the issue through the six-party talks,’’ Ban said.

During a news conference at the White House on Tuesday, Bush said he believes North Korea can be convinced to give up its nuclear weapons programs without the United States resorting to military force.

``It’s either diplomacy or military. And I am for the diplomacy approach,’’ Bush said, responding to criticism over a lack of progress in disarming the North. ``For those who say that we ought to be using our military to solve the problem, I would say that while all options are on the table, we’ve got a ways to go to solve this diplomatically.’’

The vernacular media in Seoul also placed importance on Bush’s use of the honorific ``Mr.’’ when referring to the North Korean leader.

The U.S. president has frequently expressed contempt for Kim Jong-il, calling him a ``tyrant’’ who starves his people.

Bush’s comments come amid signs of growing U.S. frustration with North Korea, which has boycotted the six-nation nuclear talks for nearly a year.

Experts said they are also an important gesture toward South Korea ahead of a summit between Bush and President Roh Moo-hyun on June 10.

``It shows that at least at this moment there is not a very serious conflict between Seoul and Washington on how to deal with the nuclear issue,’’ said Park Ihn-hwi, professor at Ewha Womans University.

South Korea and China have urged the U.S. to soften its approach toward North Korea in order to woo the reclusive communist country back to the nuclear bargaining table.

Despite diplomatic efforts, however, North Korea ratcheted up tensions in the nuclear standoff last month, declaring it is moving ahead with the reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods from its Yongbyon reactor into weapons-grade plutonium.

Bush stressed North Korea should listen to international calls to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

``We want diplomacy to be given a chance to work … And hopefully it will work,’’ he said.

He also downplayed the U.S. Defense Department’s decision to halt a program for recovering from North Korea the remains of U.S. soldiers who went missing in action during the Korean War.

Bush said the recovery program was suspended pending a safety assessment for U.S. soldiers and was not due to any specific threat by the North, as some reports had speculated.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr