U.S. will not attack N. Korea in response to nuke test: Rice

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Tuesday the United States has no intent to invade North Korea over its nuclear test.

In an interview with CNN, Rice quoted U.S. President George W. Bush as saying, "There is no intention to invade or attack them. So they have that guarantee."

"Is the United States, somehow, in a provocative way, trying to invade North Korea? It's just not the case," Rice said.

When asked whether North Korea may have felt that it needed to conduct the test to stave off a U.S.-led attack, like the one on Iraq, she said her country's invasion of the Middle Eastern nation was an isolated case.

"What Kim Jong Il should understand is that if he verifiably gives up his nuclear weapons program, there is a better path,'' Rice said.

"There's a better path for his people, who are oppressed and downtrodden, and hungry for that matter," she added.

On Monday, Pyongyang stunned the world by conducting a nuclear test despite repeated warnings from the international community not to do so.

Rice's remarks came at a time that tension has mounted on the Korean Peninsula as the U.N. Security Council is seeking sanctions against the North for the unexpected move.

Washington, Oct. 10 (Yonhap News)