Bush Strongly Defends His N. Korea Policies

CHICAGO — President Bush on Friday defended his administration's policies on North Korea, questioning claims that the regime in Pyongyang had grown more dangerous since he entered the White House.

The North Koreans test-fired seven missiles this week, and Bush said he still did not know whether one of them, a long-range intercontinental missile, was aimed at the U.S. or even could have flown that far.

He said the United States' controversial missile defense system might have been able to shoot the rocket out of the sky if that had become necessary.

"I think we had a reasonable chance of shooting it down. At least that's what the military commanders told me," Bush said at a news conference. "It's new research. It's hard for me to give you a probability of success."

Outside experts have given more pessimistic assessments of the missile defense program and its capabilities.

The president grew testy when asked why, if his policies were working, North Korea appeared to be improving its nuclear capabilities and growing more aggressive.

"These problems didn't arise overnight and they don't get solved overnight. It takes awhile," Bush said, offering the most strenuous defense of his policies since North Korea escalated its standoff with the U.S. with the test firings Wednesday.

Bush sought to counter the suggestion that North Korea had expanded its nuclear weapons capability in recent years, challenging a reporter when she asked a question that cited intelligence reports about the North's growing nuclear threat. Bush declined to dispute the basis of the question but asked the reporter, "Can you verify that?"

"We don't know -- maybe you know more than I do -- about increasing the number of nuclear weapons," Bush said, noting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has violated proliferation agreements before.

Several administration officials have talked publicly about North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal. In congressional hearings last year, top U.S. intelligence officials, including then-CIA Director Porter J. Goss, testified that Pyongyang's nuclear capability had increased since 2002, when intelligence assessments estimated that the nation possessed one or two nuclear weapons.

In testimony Feb. 16, 2005, for example, Goss said the North Koreans "have a greater capability than that assessment