US President George W. Bush has ruled out a non-aggression treaty with North Korea as demanded by Pyongyang but has left the door open to providing security assurances in another form.
"If we think there's an opportunity to move the process forward we will discuss it with our partners. We will not have a treaty, if that's what you're asking. That's off the table," Bush told reporters today as he met Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Bush repeated that the United States had no plans to invade North Korea. "I've said as plainly as I can that we have no intention of invading North Korea," he said.
He said the United States was exploring all options with the other parties involved in negotiations with North Korea - China, Russia, Japan and South Korea.
North Korea has long demanded a non-aggression pact with the United States as part of its negotiations over a nuclear weapons programme that the CIA believes has produced at least one or two nuclear weapons.
Bush planned to discuss the options later on Sunday in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the fringes of an Asia-Pacific summit in Bangkok.
"First of all what's important here is that the burden is on North Korea, not on America. North Korea must get rid of her nuclear ambitions. She must get rid of her weapons programmes, in a verifiable way, I might add," Bush said.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Friday the United States had drafted new ideas on security assurances to offer to North Korea in exchange for a promise to dismantle nuclear weapon programmes. He said the effort was in the early stages.