In Seoul, Bush presses North

SEOUL, South Korea - President Bush said today that North Korea has much to do before the United States can remove it from the terror blacklist.

During a news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, Bush said he remained concerned about North Korea's human-rights record and its ballistic-missile and nuclear programs.

Neither leader really knows whether North Korea intends to give up its nuclear-weapons program, Bush said.

Bush had branded North Korea along with Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq as part of an "axis of evil." He said it was his hope that the "axis of evil" list could be put in the past.

Bush spoke hours after opening a three-country Asia trip that will also take him to China later in the week to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing. This morning, he said it was a mistake for China not to let its people freely express their opinions and worship as they choose.

Bush said he has told Chinese leaders every time he has met with them that they should allow more freedoms, that more religious people in their society would make it better, and that they should welcome free expression of all kinds of thought.

Last night, Bush brushed off the raucous demonstrators in Seoul as he began his visit, saying it was a sign of citizens living in a country where they are free to speak their minds.

Dueling demonstrations by prayerful, flag-waving supporters and rowdy protesters doused by police water cannons reflected sharp political divisions in the U.S.-South Korean relationship, which has endured volatile moments this year but is still reliable and vital for both sides.

Lee sought to downplay the protests.

"The majority of the Korean people have been eagerly waiting for your visit," said the South Korean president, noting that thousands of people gathered yesterday in Seoul to pray for Bush and the future of the U.S.-South Korea relationship.

People waved American and South Korean flags as Bush's limousine last night neared the mansion where he met Lee, a pro-American leader who took office in February. Lee's approval ratings tumbled when he lifted a ban on U.S. beef despite public fears about its safety. The outcry prompted street protests that drew worldwide attention earlier this year.

As Bush arrived, 30,000 people held an outdoor Christian prayer service to support him. His motorcade sped by pockets of people smiling and waving U.S. flags his way.

Later, an estimated 20,000 anti-Bush protesters gathered downtown. Riot police blasted them with water cannons as they tried to march onto the main boulevard. Police warned the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.

The National Police Agency said they arrested 167 people involved in protests in central Seoul overnight, and deployed about 20,000 officers to maintain order.

"I don't have anti-U.S. sentiment. I'm just anti-Bush and anti-Lee Myung Bak," said Uhm Ki Woong, 36, a businessman wearing a mask and hat like other demonstrators, apparently to try to conceal his identity from authorities.

Despite the protests, the United States has a good standing with the Seoul government. It has quietly maintained a long-term troop presence in South Korea, now numbering almost 30,000, since intervening in the 1950-53 Korean War.

"The United States made sacrifices for South Korea during the Korean War and helped us live well," said Kim Jung Kwang, 67, a retired air force colonel who wore his military uniform to the prayer rally. "The United States is not our enemy. Without the U.S., we will die."

Bush is on his ninth trip to Asia; this one is built around the Olympics. He also will stop in Thailand.

The White House anticipated protests over the beef issue but sought to put them in perspective. U.S. beef has begun appearing again on South Korea's market and is selling.