Bush said the transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to others would be "a grave threat to the United States and we would hold North Korea fully accountable for the consequences of such action."

"For the sake of peace," he said, "it is vital that the nations of this region send a message to North Korea that the proliferation of nuclear technology to hostile regimes or terrorist networks will not be tolerated."

Bush's visit to the one-time wartime capital of Hanoi brought inevitable comparisons between Iraq and the divisive war fought and lost in Vietnam more than three decades ago. Like Vietnam, the United States faces a determined insurgency in Iraq; both wars have demonstrated the limits of US power.

"Historic parallels of that kind are, I think, not very helpful and I don't think they happen to be right," Rice told reporters on the way to Vietnam. "This is a different set of circumstances with different stakes for the United States in a different kind of war."

Bush is the fourth US president to visit Vietnam, where communist forces prevailed over the United States in a conflict that claimed more than 58,000 American lives. The others were Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

Bush's message in Asia was clear: The United States has been influential there for more than six decades and isn't about to pull back now.

Despite Bush's tough talk, he was unable to deliver a promised agreement to normalize trade with Vietnam. The accord was held up by a House still in Republican hands, sending a bad signal across Asia about Bush's clout and the future of trade-liberalizing bills in the Democratic Congress taking power in January.

"In this new century," Bush said, "America will remain engaged in Asia, because our interests depend on the expansion of freedom and opportunity in this region."

He said the United States sees its role in Asia, a region with a history of colonialism, as one of "partnership, not paternalism."

In Singapore, the president met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He paid a courtesy call on acting President J.Y. Pillay and lauded Singapore's success at integrating its many ethnicities and religions by visiting its Asian Civilisations Museum.

Lee, who often has advised Bush on how to improve the US image, particularly in the Muslim world, seemed pleased with the president's focus. "Singapore is very happy that America has a stake in the region, and is growing the stake in the region," Lee said.

With another foreign-policy priority pending on Capitol Hill - a civilian nuclear pact with India - Bush spoke by telephone from Singapore with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The agreement has been approved by the House, and Bush told Singh that Republican Senate leaders have assured him they will act soon.

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