President Bush says he hopes nations that support terrorism and export weapons of mass destruction will hear the United States' call and make the right decision.

George Bush

Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, the president stressed that "all options are on the table" to make the United States and its allies more secure. The president has described Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil," which he said sponsors terrorism and seeks weapons of mass destruction.

During a tour of southern U.S. states Thursday, Mr. Bush said any country that tries to terrorize America or its friends and allies will face retribution.

North Korea denounced President Bush's comments, Friday, in a statement accusing the United States of an aggressive and hostile stance that raised the risk of war. Iran and Iraq also have dismissed the president's statements.

In related developments, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday the United States must be on guard against terrorist attacks "vastly more deadly" than those of September 11th. Secretary Rumsfeld defended a 48-billion dollar increase in the nation's defense budget for 2003, saying new adversaries may strike in unexpected ways with weapons of increasing range and power.

U.S. officials say documents recently found in Afghanistan suggest that members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network have been planning to attack U.S. nuclear facilities, possibly in the northwestern state of Washington. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a warning to all nuclear facilities earlier this month. However, federal officials and the governor of Washington state, Gary Locke, say there is no credible threat of an upcoming attack.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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