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SYDNEY - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George Bush mapped out a blueprint for the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean peninsula, once North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. Remarks by the two leaders were exchanged in a summit which took place on Sept. 7, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney, Australia. Most importantly, if the North scraps its nuclear weapon programs, the war will end and a new peace regime will be established on the peninsula.

Rapid progress in the North Korean nuclear issue over the past few months has greatly contributed to the atmosphere between the two leaders. During a 55-minute press conference after the summit, Bush suggested an unusually optimistic view on the matter, saying that the two leaders had decided to renew the idea of setting up a peace regime in Northeast Asia.

Concerning Roh’s plan to travel to Pyongyang from Oct. 2-4 for summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Bush asked Roh to deliver his willingness to declare an end to the war and sign a peace treaty with Kim. As the 1950-53 Korean War ended with the signing of an armistice, and not a peace treaty, the two countries are still technically at war.

Bush asked Roh to deliver his message that if the North Korean leader verifiably dismantles his nuclear weapons programs, he will sign a joint peace treaty with Kim to end the Korean War, according to a core government official who was present at the summit. Bush requested that Roh tell the North Korean leader that Roh and Bush talked about this as friends, added the official.

As Roh and Bush publicly and concretely discussed what may happen following the North’s denuclearization, talks about the peace regime on the Korean peninsula are expected to make rapid progress.

A government official, who asked that his name not be mentioned, said that the six-party talks have shown rapid progress and produced considerable results, partially due to the momentum generated by the recent one-on-one meeting between the two leaders in Geneva.

“So far South Korea and the U.S. have concentrated on solving the North Korean nuclear problem. Today’s summit is meaningful in that the heads of the two nations have seriously started the process toward establishing a peace regime on the peninsula. Discussions will be made at all levels in the future,” added the official.

Prior to the summit with Bush, Roh also met his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao. The two leaders agreed to expedite bilateral discussions on a Korean peninsula peace regime in an appropriate time. During meeting with Hu, Bush expressed his will to resolve the North’s nuclear problem and to build a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.

Considering these circumstances, some observers are of the opinion that the leaders of South Korea, the United States and China may have achieved consensus toward holding further discussions on signing a peace treaty on the premise that the North can disable its nuclear weapons programs by the end of the year.

Fulfilling such an optimistic view will be the North Korean leader’s responsibility, according to Bush. Bush has repeatedly stressed that his goal is to bring an end to the Korean War through a peace treaty. In order to achieve this, he has also emphasized that the North Korean leader needs to verifiably dismantle his nuclear programs.