WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Ed Markey, the co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation, released the following statement on the current situation in North Korea and urged the Administration, which has mishandled this international crisis so far,  to begin direct talks with them to end their nuclear and missile programs:

“The Bush Administration has bungled its handling of the North Korean situation by pursuing a policy which is simultaneously hostile and ineffectual.  The White House should supplement the Six-Party talks with direct face-to-face discussions with the North Koreans to end their nuclear and missile programs. 

“For far too long, the Administration has been held hostage by its “Axis of Evil” rhetoric – it knows how to call names but not how to find solutions.  President Bush has hoped that if he ignores North Korea, the problem will simply go away.  But six years of the White House's policy of paralysis has failed and left the United States facing an even greater menace. 

“A strong U.N. resolution will be helpful to isolate North Korea, but not to end our isolation from our diplomatic responsibilities.   That is why it is so important to follow-up the U.N. Security Council's effort with new initiatives to try to resolve this crisis diplomatically.”