Bush Predicts Peace In Koreas

President Bush Thursday said he felt the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons would be resolved peacefully, but deplored Pyongyang's handling of its economy.

"I think the situation will be resolved peacefully," the president said. "We're working with friends and allies in the region to explain clearly to North Korea it's not in their national interest to proliferate weapons of mass destruction."

Tensions between North Korea and the United States have been increasing since the U.S. confronted the north in October with evidence that it had begun a uranium-enrichment program that could produce nuclear weapons fuel.

The U.S. suspended fuel shipments to the North, which prompted Pyongyang to remove cameras and locks from a plutonium-based that had been sealed since 1994. Last week, North Korea ejected international weapons inspectors and hinted it might leave the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

The White House has consistently avoided threatening North Korea with war, in contrast to its policy on Iraq. But the president Thursday indicated he didn't like North Korea's leader any more than Saddam Hussein.

"Well, what I worry about in a leader such as (North Korean president ) Kim Jong-Il is somebody who starves his people," Mr. Bush said at his ranch in Texas. "The United States of America is the largest, one of the largest, if not the largest donor of food to the North Korean people and one of the reasons why the people are starving is that the leader of North Korea hasn't seen to it that their economy is strong or that they be fed.

"You know, (the U.S.) has got a great heart, but I have no heart for somebody who starves his folks," the president said.

Earlier Thursday, North Korea's state media said the country would not bend to U.S. pressure.

"As (North Korea) has a strong army, it has a strong pluck. If the U.S. tries to settle the issue with (North Korea) by force, (North Korea) has no idea of avoiding it," said the North's government newspaper, Minju Joson, in a report carried on the North's foreign news outlet, Korean Central News Agency. North Korea's military counts about a million active duty troops and 4.7 million reservists, much larger than the United States' total military payroll.

The North, sensing opportunity in widespread anti-American sentiment in South Korea, urged the South on Wednesday to back its confrontation with the United States.

On Thursday, South Korea rebuffed North Korea's overtures, telling the North to stop saber-rattling and instead take a "forward-looking" step to ease the crisis over its nuclear programs.

South Korea Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun also said the North's leadership "should not attempt to test the limit of the patience of the international community."

"The nuclear issue is a matter that affects the destiny of our people," Jeong said. "Therefore, we should actively search for a solution that can make all parties — South and North Korea and related countries — the winner."

The North's emphasis on "cooperation" with South Korea comes at a time when Seoul is criticizing a possible U.S. plan to use economic sanctions to force North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program.

That coincides with a series of protests over the massive U.S. military presence in South Korea and the recent acquittal of two American servicemen in the accidental deaths of two Korean girls.

North Korea's overtures also are driven by economic needs, experts said. In order to feed its 22 million people, North Korea needs outside aid and wants several cooperative projects with the South — like a cross-border rail link — completed.