From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Stopping the spread of the atom bomb. Is it still possible?

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues. Americans care about most. The U.S. won't tolerate a North Korean nuclear weapon, and South Korea,

Japan, Russia, and China agree. That was President Bush's message today, emphasizing

diplomacy in the aftermath of North Korea's nuclear explosion. On to the point, with Iran allegedly on its way to building a bomb,

what's happened to the international non-proliferation regime? Why have some countries turned away

from nuclear weapons while others go full speed ahead? Is aid with nuclear power an invitation

to building a bomb? On reporter's notebook later on, the civilian death toll from the war in Iraq.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D.

and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren Olney, back with To the Point. North Korea has defied the UN Security Council and tested a nuclear weapon.

Iran may be moving in the same direction. On To the Point, what's happened to the nuclear non-proliferation regime?

Is it still possible to stop the spread of the atom bomb? On reporter's

notebook, a new study says 655,000 Iraqi civilians have died since the U.S. invasion. President

Bush says he doesn't believe that. We'll hear more. First this news update and the aftermath

of the nuclear test on Sunday, President Bush says North Korea must dismantle weapons

production and that Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia are all part of a unified diplomatic

effort. I can remember the time when it was said that the Bush administration goes it alone too

often in the world, which I always thought was a bogus claim to begin with.

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