President Bush told South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun In a rare public exchange that a formal end to the Korean war will begin when North Korea halts its secretive nuclear weapons program.

Both leaders met in Sydney before the annual Asia-Pacific economic summit. They had spent much time discussing diplomatic stagnations over the North Korean Nuclear program.

"We spent a lot of time talking about the six-party talks and the progress that is being made in the six-party talks," Bush said. They agreed there had been progress, with Roh characterizing it as "positive" and "meaningful."

During the meeting, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun urged Bush to be more "clearer" on his position to officially ending the war with the North. The war ended in 1953 with the truce, however no peace treaty was signed, so officially they are still at war.

There response from Bush was "I can't make it any more clear, Mr. President. We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean War. That will happen when Kim Jong Il verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons."

CNN