At APEC, Bush makes hard push for North Korea deal

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US President George W. Bush scrambled allies Saturday to secure a North Korea disarmament deal before he leaves office, pushing for a meeting with the communist state's neighbors to strip it of nuclear weapons. As Bush engaged in some final diplomacy on the world stage at a Pacific Rim summit in the Peruvian capital, the White House announced that all nations involved in the North Korea negotiations would meet in China in early December. Bush's government is eager to lock in an international agreement on how to accurately verify North Korea's nuclear capabilities before he steps down on January 20. On the collapsing economy, Bush went before leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to argue that the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression is a new chance for world unity and renewed prosperity.