SEOUL, South Korea -- Following talks here this week with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President George W. Bush said North Korea must do more if it wants to retire its membership in the "axis of evil." And for the first time during the six-party talks, U.S. diplomacy appears focused on North Korea's human rights record. "That's to be determined," the U.S. president responded. Despite Pyongyang's declaration of its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program and the recent destruction of the cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor, Bush said North Korea has a long way to go.
Seoul was the first stop of Bush's last tour of Asia while in the White House. At a press conference following his third meeting with Lee since the conservative South Korean president took office in February, a reporter asked Bush if North Korea still deserves membership in the "axis of evil."
Bush Says N. Korea Must Do More, Human Rights Under Scrutiny
