WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT George W. Bush said on Monday North Korea is 'still a problem' - and that it's important talks on that country's nuclear program bring about a 'strong verification regime'.

At a farewell news conference, Mr Bush said the 'most urgent threat' that Mr Barack Obama will face is the potential for an 'attack on our homeland', and warned of other threats posed by members of what he once referred to as an 'axis of evil'.

'North Korea's still a problem. There is a debate in the intel community about how big a problem they are,' he said.

'One of my concerns is that there might be a - a highly enriched uranium programme,' Mr Bush said.

'And therefore it is really important that out of the six-party talks comes a - a strong verification regime. In other words, in order to advance our relations with North Korea, the North Korean government must honor the commitments it made to allow for strong verification measures to be in place, to ensure that they don't develop a - a highly enriched uranium program, for example.'

He also described Iran as 'still dangerous'. -- AP