"As to the central charge of trying to humiliate or to make them go to their knees, it's just the opposite," White House spokesman Tony Snow said in response to a North Korean general's comments to ABC television.
"Not only do we not want North Korea to kneel down before (us), but what we're trying to do is offer them a better deal -- better economy, more security, better relations with their neighbours, integration into the global community, as opposed to isolation. A pretty good deal," he said.
Asked whether the general's warning that war might be inevitable unless tensions ease was accurate, Snow replied curtly: "No."
"It is not unusual for the North Koreans to use strong rhetoric," said Snow. "We, right now, are focused on using all of our efforts on a diplomatic path to work with that government of North Korea so that they're going to do things that are going to be good for all of them.
"What we want to do is give North Korea an opportunity to enjoy the same kinds of privileges and prosperity that are available to other nations in the region," said the spokesman.
"What we've tried to do in the case of the government of North Korea is not to engage in personal insults about Kim Jong Il but to talk directly about what the government has been doing and how we're trying to work with people in the neighbourhood to help out North Korea," he said.
"And, you know, there are disagreements, but also a lot of times what happens is people engage in some public diplomacy," he said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006