US President George W. Bush has urged the South Korean President Mr Roh Moo-hyun not to be
intimidated by Iraqi militants who beheaded a South Korean national today.
"I haven't had a chance to speak to President Roh yet, but I would hope that President Roh would understand that the free world cannot be intimidated by the brutal action of these barbaric people," Bush told reporters after the 33-year-old Kim Sun-il's body was found.
The group, which kidnapped Kim on June 17, had demanded Seoul withdraw some 670 military medics and engineers from Iraq and drop plans to send 3,000 more troops. South Korea had rejected the demand, noting the troops were to help rebuild Iraq and not for offensive operations.
"See, what they are trying to do is they are trying to shake our will and our confidence. They are trying to get us to withdraw from the world so that they can impose their dark vision on people," Bush said.
"In order to impose their vision, they want us to leave. They want us to cower in the face of their brutal killings, and the United States will not be intimidated by these people, because we believe strongly in freedom and liberty and human rights and human dignity. ... And I believe President Roh understands that," Bush added.