February 5, 200521 yr N.Korea responds to State of the Union courtesy BBC NEWS North Korea rebuffs Bush speeches The commentary on the state-run Radio Pyongyang was North Korea's first reaction to speeches made by Mr Bush since he began his new term in office. It said his aim to have the fires of freedom burning in every corner of the world meant the US wanted to throw the planet into "a sea of battle fires". Mr Bush pledged last month to encourage freedom in "outposts of tyranny". US officials said the comments in the president's inaugural speech referred to North Korea, among other countries. "In his inauguration speech, Bush trumpeted that 'fire of freedom will reach dark corners of the word,'" Radio Pyongyang's broadcast on Friday was quoted by South Korea's Yohhap news agency. "This is nothing but a plot to... rule it [the world] by imposing a freedom based on power," the report said. In his State of the Union address earlier this week, Mr Bush - who in 2002 branded Pyongyang part of an "axis of evil - made only a brief reference to the Stalinist state. He said: "We're working closely with the government in Asia to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions." On Friday, Washington time, President Bush and his South Korean counterpart Roh Moo-hyun discussed the issue in a 10-minute telephone call. Officials in Washington and Seoul say momentum is building for the resumption of six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. The talks stalled last September without a breakthrough. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4238385.stm
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