U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that he was pleased with diplomatic progress on resolving the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear arms program.

At a news conference at the White House, Bush reasserted that the U.S. is currently in the process of using diplomatic means and persuasion to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to dismantle his nuclear weapons program.

Asked what lessons Kim might learn from the recent capture of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Bush only expressed hope that the North Korean leader would listen to international calls to abandon his nuclear ambitions.

Bush also stressed that employing a military option is the last choice in addressing issues, noting that the United States had exhausted all diplomatic means with Iraq before taking military actions to oust Hussein.

The United States has repeatedly said it has no intention to invade the North and that it supports a peaceful resolution to the nuclear dispute, but has not the taken military option off the table.

The communist country, for its part, has accused the United States of plotting to invade it and has demanded security guarantees in exchange for scrapping its nuclear arms program.