The President's News Conference in Chicago
July 7th, 2006

Suzanne [Suzanne Malveaux, CNN].

Q. Mr. President, if I could follow up, you say diplomacy takes
time----

The President. Yes, it does.

Q. ----but it was 4 years ago that you labeled North Korea a member of
the "axis of evil." And since then, it's increased its nuclear arsenal;
it's abandoned six-party talks; and now these missile launches----

The President. Let me ask you a question. It's increased it's-- that's
an interesting statement: "North Korea has increased its nuclear
arsenal." Can you verify that?

Q. Well, intelligence sources say--if you can--if you'd like to dispute
that, that's fine.

The President. No, I'm not going to dispute; I'm just curious.

Q. Our intelligence sources say that it's increased the number--its
nuclear capability----

The President. Let me put it this way: The guy is dangerous--
dangerous. He's got potential danger.

Q. It's increased its nuclear capabilities. It's abandoned six-party
talks, and it's launched these missiles.

The President. Yes.

Q. Why shouldn't Americans see the U.S. policy regarding North Korea as
a failed one?

The President. Because it takes time to get things done.

Q. What objectives has the U.S. Government achieved when it comes to
North Korea? And why does the administration continue to go back to the
same platform process if it's not effective in changing North Korea's
behavior? Thank you.

The President. Suzanne, these problems didn't arise overnight, and they
don't get solved overnight. It takes a while. Again, I think if you
look at the history of the North Korean weapons program, it started
probably in the '80s. We don't know--maybe you know more than I do
about increasing the number of nuclear weapons. My view is, we ought to
treat North Korea as a danger, take them seriously. No question that he
has signed agreements and didn't stick by them. But that was done
during--when we had bilateral negotiations with him, and it's done
during the six-party talks.

You've asked what we've done. We've created a framework that will be
successful. I don't--my judgment is, you can't be successful if the
United States is sitting at the table alone with North Korea. You run
out of options very quickly if that's the case. In order to be
successful diplomatically, it's best to have other partners at the
table. You ask what we've done. We got the six-party talks started. And
that's a positive development. It's a way to solve this problem
diplomatically.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=277