http://192.168.2.6/music/20061014/2006VOA1012.mp3

We are breaking away from our regular programing at this hour to bring you live coverage of a Rose Garden News Conference by President Bush. He is expected to begin momentarily.

A several issues are likely to be raised, high on the agenda is the North Korean nuclear program. North Korea said Monday it had conducted a nuclear weapon's test in response to UN Security Council deliberations about possible sanctions. Pyongyang said it considers continued pressure from the United States to be a declaration of war. The country's offiicial news agency said Pyongyang will take physical countermeasures if Washington keeps pressing the government of Kim Jong-il over its nuclear program. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea. Speaking on CNN, Rice said Washington still seeks tough sanctions against North Korea.

The Security Council will meet today to discuss possible sanctions including a total embargo on military supplies, a ban on luxury items and more financial sanctions. China's UN ambassador has indicated support for punitive measures but it is unclear what specific actions Beijing will agree to.

Scientists continue to try to determine what caused Monday's blast in North Korea. US intelligence experts say there are three possibilities. The first is that Pyongyang conducted a successful nuclear test. The second is that the test was a partial failure involving a nuclear device that did not detonate. And we now go to the White House Rose Garden where President Bush is about to speak.

Thank you. Before I take your questions I'd like to discuss a couple of subjects.

At first, I wanna briefly mention that today we release the actual budget numbers for the fiscally year that ended on September the 30th. These numbers show that we've now achieved our goal of cutting the federal budget deficit in half and we've done it three years ahead of schedule. The budget numbers approve that pro-growth economic policies work. I was restraining spending in Washington and allowing Americans to keep more what they earn, economy is creating jobs, reducing the deficit and making our nation a more prosperous nation for all of our citizens. I'll talk about the pro-growth economic policies that helped bring about the dramatic reduction in the deficit. This afternoon I'll remind our fellow citizens that good tax policy has a lot to do to keep the economy strong, and therefore we'll continue to urge the Congress to make the tax cuts permanent.

I also wanna talk about the unfolding situation in North Korea. Earlier this week the government of North Korea proclaimed to the world that it had conducted a successful nuclear test. The United States is working to confirm North Korea's claim. But this claim itself constitutes a threat to international peace and stability. In response to North Korea's actions we are working with our partners in the region and the United Nations Security Council to ensure there are serious repercussions for the regime Pyongyang. I've spoken with other world leaders including Japan,China, South Korea and Russia. We all agree that there must be a strong Security Council resolution that will require North Korea to abide by its international commitments to dismantle its nuclear programs. This resolution should also specify a series of measures to prevent North Korea from exporting nuclear or missile technologies, and prevent financial transactions and asset transfers that will help North Korea develop its nuclear and missile capabilities. Last year North Korea agreed to a path to a better future for its people in the six-party talks. September of last year, we had an agreement with North Korea. It came valid form what we called the six-party joint statement. It offered the prospect for normalized relations with both Japan and the United States. It talked about economic cooperation in energy, trade and investment. In that joint statement, North Korea committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.