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After a stopover in Alaska, Bush will travel to Seoul, then Bangkok before arriving for the 2008 summer Olympics opening ceremonies Friday in Beijing.

Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak "will certainly discuss the free trade agreement and their strategies for getting it through their respective legislatures", said Dennis Wilder, National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs. "And of course they'll discuss the visa waiver program that the South Koreans are very interested in having with the United States."

He said he believed discussions about U.S. beef exports to South Korea would not be conducted.

"(We) have a voluntary agreement between our beef exporters and Korean beef importers", Wilder said. "That agreement seems to be working extremely well."

Regarding North Korea, Wilder said verification protocol negotiations are ongoing and "we certainly are in close contact with the North Koreans about what they need to do. We are hopeful that we will be able to reach an understanding with the North Koreans, but we're not at that juncture yet."

"It is up to the North Koreans now to come back to us and accept a verification protocol", he said.

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