WASHINGTON - President Bush's visit to South Korea starting today likely would be little more than a routine show of support for a valued ally were it not for a single sentence he included in his State of the Union address.

Associated Press A student is taken away by police yesterday after more than 20 students stormed into the office of the American Chamber of Commerce to oppose President George W. Bush's visit to Seoul, Korea. Bush is scheduled to fly into Seoul today from Tokyo for meetings with South Korean leaders as part of his Asian tour.

The repercussions were felt all the way to Seoul when Bush said: "North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens."

Bush's words seemed to clash with the four-year effort of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung to reach out to his northern neighbor. Kim believes that gestures of friendship will build confidence and reduce the prospects of another war.

Kim once said his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Il, should have shared the Nobel Peace Prize that the South Korean leader won after their friendly summit meeting in Pyongyang in 2000. In contrast, Bush says the Kim Jong-Il's government is part of an exclusive "axis of evil" club together with Iran and Iraq.

Bush, whose Korea visit will include a stop in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two rivals, said Saturday he supports South Korea's attempts to reconcile with the North.

But, he added, America "will not allow North Korea and other dangerous regimes to threaten freedom with weapons of mass destruction."

Pyongyang's export of missiles, primarily to Iran, is a major administration concern. Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says North Korea's sale of missile technology to Iran "has created an immediate, serious and growing capability to target U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East."

Describing North Korea's overall missile sales program, National Security adviser Condoleezza Rice said last week, "They're stocking a lot of the world right now."

But many in South Korea worry that Bush's tough stand could create instability on the peninsula, no small matter considering the vast military force Pyongyang has deployed not far from Seoul and its 15 million citizens.

Some in South Korea note that North Korea has seemed far less interested in an accommodation with South Korea since Bush took office 13 months ago. They blame the more hard-nosed policy Bush has demonstrated all along compared with President Clinton.

With Bush's visit to Seoul in mind, Secretary of State Colin Powell moved quickly to reassure South Koreans that Bush's words did not signify a backing away from the administration's eight-month old commitment to seek a dialogue with Pyongyang.

Bush says he clearly favors a North-South dialogue as well but diplomats wonder whether this will be enough to erase the impression of a growing gap between the two over how to deal with North Korea.

The South Korean president has not offered judgments about Bush's State of the Union comments. His office has reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-South Korean alliance in the pursuit of peace.

Powell noted on Sunday there are some positive aspects in relations with North Korea. He pointed out that the North's 1994 commitment to freeze a nuclear weapons program is still in effect. Also, he said, the North has abided by a 1999 missile test moratorium.

Pyongyang has characterized Bush's "axis of evil" remarks as just short of a declaration of war. Yesterday, Radio Pyongyang described Bush as "a politician who is ignorant and poor in theoretical ability."

North Korea's official news agency, KCNA, complained of a U.S. "policy of aggression on Korea."

"Japanese reactionaries should also bear in mind that they would not escape their doom if they join in the Korean war in league with the U.S. imperialists in a bid to achieve their ambition for overseas aggression," the agency said.

Korea watchers at the State Department clearly were not enthusiastic about Bush's more confrontational approach. All had urged the White House that Bush not mention North Korea at all in his Jan. 29 address.

They recognized that hostile rhetoric could harm relations with Seoul and trigger demonstrations during Bush's visit that would attract not only traditional anti-American activists but also those with more mainstream views.

Morton Abramowitz and James Laney, co-chairs of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on the Korean Peninsula, say Bush must be prepared to elaborate on his stand toward North Korea.

They said Bush "needs to show a little beef on how his approach will bring North Korea down or limit its weapons efforts," Abramowitz and Laney wrote this week in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.

Bush will leave South Korea on Thursday for China, his final stop.