TOKYO - President Bush appeared to tone down his criticism of North Korea and his concerns over the growing competitiveness of China and India in his State of the Union address, experts in Asia said Wednesday.
But the speech, in which Bush had harsh words for Iran and the militant Palestinian group Hamas, raised concerns in Indonesia, the world"s most populous Muslim nation, over U.S. plans for Iraq.

Bush singled out Iran and North Korea as examples of countries with repressive governments - along with Syria, Myanmar and Zimbabwe - and said that while much of the world now lives under democracy, "we do not forget the other half."

He further chided Iran, saying it was "held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people."

But while Bush vowed the United States would continue to lead the fight to spread democracy, experts said his comments on foreign issues were relatively broad and were not expected to generate many waves, at least not in Asia.

Bush made a single mention of North Korea in his speech among a list of countries lacking democracy. He didn"t go into any detail on the stalemate in the dispute over the North"s nuclear ambitions.

"I believe that the U.S. position on North Korea will remain unchanged," Paik Hak-soon, a research fellow at South Korea"s Sejong Institute, said after the speech.

Peter Beck, director for Northeast Asia at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said that Bush appeared to be more restrained about North Korea than he has in the past. Four years ago, Bush branded North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" including Iran and Saddam Hussein"s Iraq.

Bush"s remarks on China were also relatively soft, urging Americans to boost their competitiveness in response to a rising China instead of criticizing Beijing for unfair trade practices as his administration frequently does.

"The American economy is pre-eminent but we cannot afford to be complacent," he said. "In a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors like China and India."

China has sought to portray its rapid economic rise as a benefit to world markets and a cooperative member of the global trading community. Washington, meanwhile, complains about China"s rampant product piracy and the cheap Chinese textiles that flooded the United States after global textile quotas expired at the beginning of last year.

Beijing is also under pressure from Washington and other trading partners to let its currency rise. They complain that the government-controlled exchange rate is too low, giving Chinese exporters an unfair price advantage and hurting foreign competitors. Bush did not delve into that issue in his speech.

In Jakarta, however, Indonesia"s foreign minister said the speech raised doubts about Washington"s policy in Iraq.

"We do not see an exit strategy about when and how the U.S. will withdraw from Iraq," Hassan Wirajuda said when asked to comment on the address. "Before a total victory, America will not withdraw. We see this as a dilemma for them."

In the speech, Bush rejected calls for an early troop withdrawal from Iraq, saying he had a "clear plan for victory."

Indonesia opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Bush"s comments were expected to raise more of a response in the Middle East.

Bush said Iran must stop sponsoring terrorists in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon and "defying the world with its nuclear ambitions," which "the world must not permit."

His speech came less than a week after Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist organization, won parliamentary elections.

Bush noted the election in his speech: "Now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace."