Pyongyang accused Washington of adopting a "hostile and aggressive" stance taking the two sides toward renewed conflict.

China, a traditional ally of North Korea, also condemned Bush's harsh words, saying they would only disrupt world peace and stability.

South Korea gave no admitted public reaction but officials in Seoul said they were worried by Bush's speech on Tuesday.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said: "The remarks were merely US shenanigans aimed at continuing with its policy of aggression against us.

"The remarks were also aimed at justifying the stationing of US troops in the South and keeping up with its hostile and aggressive policy," it said.

The North broke off official contacts with the United States and South Korea last year after Bush signalled a tougher line with the communist state, especially over its weapons programme.

Since then it has accused the United States of seeking a new conflict on the Korean peninsula. Some 37,000 US troops have been in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War which has never been officially ended.

Bush said in his speech that North Korea, Iraq and Iran and their "terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil" and hinted they could become targets in the war on terrorism.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan hit back: "The Chinese side is not in favor of using such terms in international relations. We always advocate ... the principle of equality of all countries ..., otherwise it can only ... harm the maintenance of world peace and stability."

But the State Department insisted later that the United States was still open to a dialogue with Iran and North Korea.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said talks with North Koreans would only occur if they were willing to discuss their weapons programs and end their support for terrorism.

"We have said that there are serious issues to discuss with North Korea, that we're ready to sit down and discuss those issues at any time, any place," Boucher told reporters.

In Seoul, US ambassador Thomas Hubbard said Bush and South Korea's President Kim Dae-Jung would discuss the North's suspected weapons of mass destruction when they meet in Seoul on February 20.

Hubbard added Bush would reaffirm US support for Kim's "Sunshine" policy of reconciliation toward the North and US willingness for talks.

Officials close to the president said the South Korean administration had been worried by Bush's speech ahead of the summit next month.

Kim Dae-Jung has called for the United States to take some "face-saving" measures for North Korea so that it can be tempted into dialogue.

But Hubbard said the United States has no such a concept of face-saving measures and would only enter into "straightforward and practical" talks.

Hubbard noted the United States had repeatedly expressed concern over the North's suspected nuclear weapons programme and missile exports.

He said the United States wanted to see North Korea's nuclear facilities torn down and its nuclear fuel rods, which could be used to produce weapons grade plutonium, shipped out of the country.

Bush used strong terms to express concern over the North because of the increased terrorism threat in the world, the ambassador said, stressing that Bush did not mean that Washington rejected dialogue with Pyongyang.

Ryu Suk-Ryul of the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security said Bush's remarks were intended to put pressure on North Korea to abandon its brinksmanship and come forward to dialogue.

He noted that a scholar and four former US ambassadors to Seoul planned to visit Pyongyang next month and US and North Korean officials were continuing talks at the United Nations.

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