By Martin Nesirky

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea (news - web sites), in its latest rhetorical roasting for the U.S. president, described George W. Bush on Saturday as a ``typical rogue and a kingpin of terrorism'' who visited South Korea (news - web sites) this week just to review plans for war.

During his 40-hour visit to the South, Bush renewed an unconditional U.S. offer for talks with Pyongyang, but also criticized a lack of food and freedom in the North, saying the burden of proof was on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to change.

North Korea responded to Bush's remarks by issuing a toughly worded Foreign Ministry statement on Friday rejecting his call for talks and dismissing him as a ``politically backward child'' bent on using arms and money to change the North's communist political system.

On Saturday, the official KCNA news agency followed up with a commentary that regurgitated parts of the ministry's statement but also concocted some fresh phrases to attack Bush in what was almost certainly the start of a long rhetorical campaign.

It said his visit was aimed at drumming up anti-reunification forces and noted he had toured the southern side of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that bisects the Korean peninsula.

``It was, in a word, a war junket to finally examine the preparations for a war on the spot,'' KCNA said.

``He asserted that the U.S. nuclear and missile forces strong enough to destroy the world scores of times are 'deterrent forces' and the DPKR's forces for self-defense to defend its national dignity and sovereignty from the potential threat of aggression from the U.S. pose a 'threat' and can be used for 'terrorism','' it said.

SOUTH VOWS TO KEEP TRYING WITH NORTH

``This is a gangster-like logic of a typical rogue and a kingpin of terrorism.''

DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Bush has described North Korea as being part of an ``axis of evil'' for developing and seeking to proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

Apart from the lexical quirks, North Korea's comments so far have been noteworthy for not criticizing South Korea and its president, Kim Dae-jung (news - web sites) even though he voiced concern, after talks with Bush, about the North's weapons programs.

Kim said earlier on Saturday his government would not give up its ``Sunshine Policy'' of engaging the North despite Pyongyang's rejection of the latest U.S. call for dialogue.

``Based on what the (Seoul) government has achieved in the past four years, we will continue to push ahead with the engagement policy toward North Korea,'' the presidential office quoted Kim as telling visiting foreign scholars.

Political analysts say it is possible North Korea will resume stalled talks with the South even if it rules out, for now, speaking to the United States.

But they say little progress is expected because the South's Kim is in his final year in office and there are other distractions such as the soccer World Cup finals, being co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, and a major festival in the North.

Pyongyang's brinkmanship and bluster on the road to deals have been well mapped by foreign experts over the years.

On Saturday, KCNA said Bush's ``loud-mouthed'' offer of dialogue was not worthy of note because he sought to change how North Korea was run.

``It is useless for the DPRK to sit with those who do not recognize its political system,'' it said. ``Bush and his group are well advised to stop acting recklessly.''

Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), aboard Air Force One returning from Bush's six-day Asian trip, said on Friday the United States would use diplomatic channels to seek dialogue with the North despite its angry rejection of the offer.

The Koreas remain technically at war because the Korean War ended without a peace treaty. The United States keeps 37,000 troops in South Korea to deter the North, which has more than a million people in its armed forces, from repeating its 1950 invasion of the South.

Quoted:
Does anyone know how many people are in the S Korean army?