"We are going to continue the dialogue with North Korea to make it clear to them that not only does the United States feel strongly that the (Korean) peninsula ought to be nuclear-free, but other countries which live in the neighborhood feel the same way," Bush told reporters at his Texas ranch where he is on holiday.

"I think we can deal with this issue in a peaceful way and we're making good progress," he added.

Deputy minister-level talks between North Korea, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia are expected to be held in Beijing from August

A series of other consultations on the North's nuclear weapons drive are already being held. Representatives of South Korea and Japan are in Washington, while North and South Korean officials are also in Moscow.

US policy "has evolved from one of bilateral pressure to negotiate bilaterally with the North Koreans," Bush said. "That's what we did in the past and that policy unfortunately failed because the North Koreans didn't keep their word about whether or not they would enrich uranium.

"And so now we've taken another tactic which is to first of all convince the Chinese to be an active participant in a dialogue to make sure the Korean peninsula is nuclear free."

He went on: "It is very helpful that the Russians are involved with the dialogue with the North Koreans. It is also very helpful that the South Koreans and the Japanese will be involved."

WAR.WIRE