Military

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged to support the United States, while Bush
repeated his determination to wipe out global terrorism.

Bush said the United States wants to "resolve all issues peacefully," whether
that is with Iraq, Iran or North Korea.

But he underlined that "all options are on the table, and I will continue to keep
all options on the table."

Bush did not elaborate on those options, but Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an
interview on Japanese national television Sunday, said, "Our policy with respect to
North Korea remains one of hoping they will engage. We haven’t taken that off the
table. We’ve asked North Korea, ‘Come, let’s talk. Anytime, any place,
without any preconditions. We’re waiting.’"

Bush meets with South Korean leaders starting Wednesday, during the second leg of a
seven-day Asia trip that includes a visit to China.

Japan was the first stop because "Japan is one of America’s greatest and
truest friends," Bush said.

Bush thanked Koizumi for his "steadfast support" since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, calling the U.S.-Japan alliance "the bedrock of peace and prosperity in the
Pacific."

Japan’s hosting of U.S. forward-deployed forces not only fosters the stability of
Asia, Bush said, but benefits a world now threatened by global terror.

"In the war against terror, one of the worst things that can possibly happen is
al-Qaida-like organizations becoming allied and operationally attuned to nations which
develop weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Bush arrived in Tokyo late Sunday afternoon and was greeted by small demonstrations.
Local media reports described protesters demanding that the United States withdraw its
nearly 50,000 troops from Japan, and others opposing Bush’s description of North
Korea, Iran and Iraq as an "axis of evil."

Bush maintained his hard-line stance against North Korea.

Describing the two Korean nations, he said, "On the one side of the parallel,
we’ve got people starving to death" because of a country that "chooses to
build weapons of mass destruction. On the other side there’s freedom."

"They should make no mistake about it — we will defend our interests and I
will defend the American people," Bush said.

Bush said the world leaders he’s spoken with support the United States, and
"they understand that our commitment is not just in Afghanistan."

"History has given us a unique opportunity to defend freedom, and we’re going
to seize the moment and do it, and I’m confident nations will come with us," he
said.