Mr. Bush talked to reporters invited to tour his Texas ranch. President Bush had some harsh words for North Korean President Kim Jong Il. Mr. Bush said, "I have no heart for somebody who starves his folks."
Mr. Bush said he wants to see a "nuclear-free" Korean peninsula, and made clear he intends to rely on diplomatic and economic pressure on Kim Jong Il to meet that goal.
He was asked if North Korea's neighbors are willing to take the necessary action to convince Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. He said, "They may be putting pressure on and you just don't know about it."
The Bush administration has made clear it is not interested in a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. The president said Tuesday that this is not a military show-down but a diplomatic one.