The Bush administration faced two intractable nuclear challenges in February 2005. Iran and North Korea, the remaining members of the "axis of evil" after the US-led invasion of Iraq, were pressing Washington from opposite ends of the diplomatic spectrum.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled both governments "outposts of tyranny" while insisting the two cases required different handling. North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong-il was believed to already possess an atomic weapon, announced it would not return to six-party talks, citing US hostility. Those negotiations also included China, South Korea, Russia, and Japan.
Iran was engaged in separate negotiations with Britain, France, and Germany over its nuclear program. Washington was deeply skeptical of those talks. Rice called the Iranian situation "urgent," pointing to Tehran's support for terrorism and its domestic governance as compounding concerns.
Analysts found the administration's options narrow. Brookings Institution scholar Ivo Daalder said the White House believed "the nuclear problem cannot be solved" with current regimes in power. Some in Washington held out hope for a popular uprising in Iran; no comparable scenario was considered plausible for North Korea.
South Korea's foreign envoy Ban expressed confidence in the US defense commitment to Seoul, noting that Washington retained sufficient capability to manage regional tensions despite its forces concentrated in Iraq.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.