Bush on N. Korea: ‘I worry about a society that is going hungry. I worry about forced labor camps.’

The Chosun Ilbo attended a press conference with GW Bush today (their reporter was originally planning to interview your correspondent–seriously) but under the circumstances I was understanding. Especially now that I hear this:

On the eve of a fresh round of multilateral talks about North Korea’s nuclear program, U.S. President George W. Bush expressed strong concerns about the way the Stalinist country treats its people. “I have expressed my concerns about treatment of men, women and children in North Korea. I worry about a society that is going hungry. I worry about forced labor camps,” Bush told the Chosun Ilbo in a special interview at the White House on Tuesday.
. . . .
Asked what kind of leadership his administration expects from the North Korean regime, Bush said, “The mark of a good leader is one that cares first and foremost about the human conditions of the people that live in the country, and where there is starvation and hunger, the leader’s responsibility is to address that. But his rhetoric was noticeably more restrained two days after he once again called North Korea leader Kim Jong-il a “tyrant” during a visit to Brazil.

Nice words, but I’m ready for something chewier than this cotton candy.