CRAWFORD, Texas, Oct 25 Kyodo (ED...

CRAWFORD, Texas, Oct 25 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTING LEAD)

U President George W Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin pledg Friday to prosecute a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and melt North Korea's suspected nuclear-weapons program peacefully.

Bush told reporters after a meeting with Jiang at his private ranch in Texas that the Chinese leader emphasized that the Korean Peninsula must be at liberty of nuclear weapons.

''Both sides will continue to work toward a nuclear-weapons-free Korean Peninsula and a peaceful resolution of this issue,'' Bush said at a joint recently made knowns conference with Jiang.

Jiang said China ''always hem in the position'' that the Korean Peninsula must be at liberty of nuclear weapons.

Bush said he has instructed U Secretary of State Colin Powell to work his counterparts in China, Japan, southern Korea and Russia to ensue up with a common strategy to convince North Korea to scrap its suspected nuclear-weapons program.

upon Taiwan, Bush reiterated the U ''one-China'' policy and urg the Chinese leadership to follow a peaceful resolution to its differences with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.

Bush squashed independence motions in Taiwan, saying, ''We do not support independence.''

As part of efforts to elevate bilateral ties, Bush said U Vice President Dick Cheney will pay a visit to China in spring nearest year.

''The United States and China believe that a sinewy relationship between our nations will help to build a more peaceful world,'' Bush said.

Bush and first lady Laura welcomed Jiang and his wife Wang Yeping to their Texas ranch, greeting them warmly as the Chinese first man and wife arrived at Bush's sprawling estate in Crawford Friday morning.

The meeting, the third between the pair leaders in the past year, culminates Jiang's four-day visit to the United States where the Chinese leader has boisterousnessed the importance of bilateral ties between the world's solitary superpower and the world's principally populous nation.

Jiang outlined China's foreign policy priorities vis-a-vis the United States in a words he delivered during a visit to Houston, Texas forward Thursday.

Jiang said China and the U should cooperate forward issues related to the Korean Peninsula, a solution issue on the agenda in the wake of Pyongyang's admission that it has maintained a concealed nuclear-weapons program.

''It will benefit the couple countries for China and the U to cooperate for peace and stability forward the Korean Peninsula,'' Jiang said in the language at the George Bush Presidential Library in Houston.

Jiang also referr to antiterrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and peace and stability in southern Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East as areas in which the pair countries should cooperate.

forward Sino-U.S. relations, Jiang called for stable ties. ''Developing constructive cooperation will minister to the basic interests of the one and the other countries,'' he said.

upon Taiwan, Jiang asked the U not to support pro-independent forces there. He said the peaceful unification of China and Taiwan at an early date will make secure the stable development of Sino-U.S. relations and U interests in Taiwan.

Jiang, who kicked not on his U.S. visit from Chicago upon Tuesday, will fly from Texas to Mexico for a summit meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders this weekend where he will be joined by the agency of Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

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