North Korea may shut down nuclear program during George W. Bush's presidency

President George W. Bush said it is possible that North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons program before he leaves office.

Photo: North Korea may shut down nuclear program during George W. Bush's presidency

"Can it happen before I'm through? Yes, it can. I hope so," Bush told foreign journalists Thursday at the White House.

He spoke for 45 minutes in the Roosevelt Room about Iraq, climate change, terrorism, trade, and U.S. relations with China and other Asian nations.

In an interview with Australia's Sky News network, Bush said he would be concerned about China's military if the country ever turned hostile.

"My view of China is that they're internally focused to the extent that they want economic growth and vitality, they're externally focused in order to get the raw materials they need, but if they ever turn hostile, I would be concerned about the military," Bush said.

He also urged countries considering pulling troops out of Iraq to base their decisions on restoring the country's security, saying the U.S. needs "all our coalition partners" in the troubled nation.

The president, who leaves Monday for Sydney, Australia, for his seventh Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, expressed frustration with the slow work in getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs. Yet, he said the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan are making progress in their goal of achieving a de-nuclearized Korean peninsula.

North Korea agreed in 2005 to disclose and dismantle all aspects of its nuclear weapons program. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the communist regime is cooperating with U.N. experts overseeing the mothballing of key nuclear facilities; IAEA experts last month confirmed the shutdown of four nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.

"Here we are in 2007, nearly two years later, where we're still reminding them of that agreement," Bush told the foreign journalists and reporters from The Associated Press and other wire services.

"On the other hand, a lot has happened in the last couple of months that would lead me to believe that we're on - we're making progress," the president said, adding that resolving the dispute rests with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. "And we will continue to push toward the full disclosure and dismantlement."

On other issues, Bush said he would tell leaders at the summit that he takes the issue of climate change seriously and that nations emitting the most greenhouse gases need to reach an accord to address the problem.