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U.S. President George W. Bush asked Chinese President Hu Jintao last April what he would think if the U.S. offered North Korea a peace treaty, former U.S. deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick said Monday. Zoellick made the revelation in an article in the Wall Street Journal on the recent conclusion of the six-nation nuclear talks entitled ¡°Long Division.¡±
Over lunch, Bush opened the conversation by asking the Chinese president whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-il might consider Deng Xiaoping-style reform, according to the former official. Hu replied he had no idea but thought Kim wanted a change. The Chinese president added that when Deng ventured into opening China in the late 1970s, he was reassured by ¡°non-threatening¡± external factors, Zoellick said. Hu said Kim might move more easily if he received a positive signal from the U.S. In reply, Bush asked Hu, ¡°What if we offered him a peace treaty?¡± The Chinese president¡¯s response is not known.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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