Bush Sees Progress with N.Korea, Warns Iran

Reuters.com ^ | December 15,2003 | Reuters

[Pan_Yans Wife]

President Bush said Monday the United States was employing "diplomatic means and persuasion" to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program and insisted progress was being made toward that goal.

Bush also said that Iran would face "international consequences" if it develops nuclear weapons.

North Korea and Iran -- along with pre-war Iraq -- were part of Bush's so-called "axis of evil."

"In North Korea, we're now in the process of using diplomatic means and persuasion to convince Kim Jong-il to get rid of his nuclear weapons program," Bush told a news conference. "I'm pleased with the progress we're making, and I hope, of course, he listens."

Bush said the lesson he learned from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was "that any time the president sees a gathering threat to the United States, we must deal with it."

But he said using force was a last resort and pointed to the nuclear dispute with Iran as an example of international cooperation.

"I was most pleased that the French and Germans, as well as the Brits, delivered a very strong message to the Iranian government about the development of a nuclear weapon. It was a message that we agree with, and that is, 'Don't do so, otherwise there will be -- you know, there will be international consequences at the United Nations,"' Bush said.