TOKYO, March 25: North Korea poses a “real threat” whose solution will require international co-operation, former US President Barack Obama said on a visit to Japan.

Obama also said the US needed to ensure there was a defense system in place to protect countries in the region from a potential attack from North Korean missiles.

“North Korea is a real threat” and has developed a weapons program and delivery system that “poses a significant threat not just to the region but to the whole world”, Obama said in a speech in Tokyo.

“So far, we haven’t seen as much progress obviously as we would have liked. But the one thing that is very important to recognize is that individually, no country can solve this problem as effectively as if we all work together,” Obama stressed.

He said North Korea was “a country that is so far removed from the international norms and so disconnected with the rest of the world” that it was particularly difficult to put pressure on the isolated regime.

Under the Obama administration, Washington pursued a policy of “strategic patience” towards the North in hopes that sanctions would bring Pyongyang to heel and force it to abandon its weapons ambitions.

But during that time, a string of nuclear tests and missile launches amply demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the sanctions regime in addressing the issue.

Obama is on a swing through Asia which has already taken in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

He has largely avoided the limelight, playing golf with former prime minister John Key in New Zealand and offering parenting tips to the current leader Jacinda Ardern, who is pregnant.

Later Sunday, Obama met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for lunch, sparking memories of their 2014 “sushi summit” when the American was still in the White House.

Obama reportedly talked business and trade throughout the 2014 meal, which was supposed to be an informal opportunity for bonding between the two world leaders.

The then-president emerged to tell waiting reporters “that’s some good sushi right there” but reportedly ate only half of his Michelin-starred offerings.

Asked after his speech on Sunday what he most missed about his time in office, Obama quipped: “I do sometimes miss Air Force One. That’s a nice airplane – especially when you fly across the Pacific.”

But he also revealed that he had to buy his own groceries in the White House.

“You think you get to live for free but no, no! It’s expensive being in the White House, I’ll tell you.” AGENCIES

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania: Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican predecessor President George W. Bush found common ground in Africa on Tuesday, honoring the victims of a terrorist attack in an unprecedented chance encounter a world away from home.

The U.S. presidents had a brief, silent appearance together at a monument to victims of the 1998 embassy bombing here in the east African city where Bush coincidentally happened to be as Obama wrapped up a weeklong tour of the continent. While the two U.S. leaders didn’t say anything publicly, their wives engaged in a warm and chatty joint appearance at a summit on African women.

Initially the two presidents weren’t even planning to meet while in town, but first lady Michelle Obama joked as she sat next to her predecessor: “They’re learning from us.”

The Obamas departed Africa for home shortly after crossing paths with the Bushes, who were hosting the summit promoting the role of African first ladies in bringing change to their countries. Bush ended up joining the current president for the wreath-laying ceremony honoring the Tanzanian victims of the simultaneous attacks at the U.S. embassies here and in Kenya masterminded by Osama bin Laden.

The two presidents bowed their heads as a Marine placed the wreath of red, white and blue flowers in front of the large stone memorial on the grounds of the new U.S. Embassy. After a few moments, they shook hands with survivors of the attack and relatives of those killed before walking back into the embassy together in private discussion.

U.S. President Barack Obama wrapped up his visit to South Africa on Sunday with a visit to the prison cell where anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was held and a call to students to help build a new Africa.

Speaking at the University of Cape Town, Obama recounted how American college campaigns against investment in apartheid-era South Africa inspired him to get involved in a public cause for the first time. The school was the site of a famous speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy at the height of apartheid in 1966, and Obama said the leadership of figures like Kennedy, the now-ailing Mandela and Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi — who began his career as a lawyer in South Africa — “stand as a challenge to your generation.”

“They tell you that your voice matters,” he said. “Your ideals, your willingness to act on those ideas, your choices can make a difference. And if there’s any country in the world that shows the power of human beings to effect change, this is the one.”

Obama spoke after touring Robben Island, where Mandela was held during most of his 27 years in prison for fighting South Africa’s now-dismantled system of white minority rule and racial segregation. The president spent a few minutes in the cell where Mandela slept during that stretch, quietly contemplating the concrete walls and the mat that served as a bed.

Veteran anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada, who had been imprisoned with Mandela on the island, was the first family’s guide during the visit.

Obama had visited the island prison once before, in 2006. Sunday’s visit was the first for the family members who accompanied him — first lady Michelle Obama; the couple’s daughters, Sasha and Malia; Mrs. Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson; and a cousin, Leslie Robinson.

“For me to be able to bring my daughters there and teach them the history of that place and this country … that’s a great privilege and a great honor,” Obama told the students.

The 94-year-old Mandela has been in a Pretoria hospital for more than three weeks and has been in critical condition since June 23. He was hospitalized for a lung infection that has plagued him since his days on Robben Island.

Obama met some of Mandela’s relatives Saturday and spoke by telephone with the anti-apartheid icon’s wife, who maintains a vigil by his bedside.

The president’s decision not to visit the hospital was out of respect for the family’s wishes, according to the White House.

“I expressed my hope that Madiba draws peace and comfort from the time that he is spending with loved ones, and also expressed my heartfelt support for the entire family as they work through this difficult time,” Obama said, referring to Mandela by his clan name.

A meeting between the U.S. president and Mandela would have had historic significance. Like Obama, Mandela broke through racial barriers to become the first black president of his country. The two met when Obama was a senator.

Mandela became an international figure for his fight against apartheid. He was elected to the nation’s highest office in 1994, four years after his release from prison, and remains popular worldwide as an icon of peaceful reconciliation.

Obama’s visit to Africa’s biggest economy is part of a three-nation trip that started in Senegal and will end in Tanzania this week.

It aims to bolster U.S. investment opportunities, address development issues such as food security and health, and promote democracy. It comes as China aggressively engages the continent, pouring billions of dollars into it and replacing the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner.

During the trip, Obama pledged $7 billion to help combat frequent power blackouts in sub-Saharan Africa.

His visit also included a town hall with young people in Soweto, a Johannesburg neighborhood at the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle. He also held bilateral talks with Zuma in Pretoria, with trade high on the agenda.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE:  U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela as he flew to South Africa on Friday but played down expectations of a meeting with the ailing black leader during an Africa tour promoting democracy and food security.

White House officials hope Obama’s three-nation tour of Africa – his first substantial visit to the continent since taking office in 2009 – will compensate for what some view as years of neglect by America’s first black president.

The health of Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African president clinging to life in a Pretoria hospital, dominated Obama’s day even before he arrived in Johannesburg.

“I don’t need a photo op,” Obama told reporters aboard Air Force One after leaving Senegal. “The last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned with Nelson Mandela’s condition.”

Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, said his condition had improved in the past few days.

Nearly 1,000 trade unionists, Muslim activists and South African Communist Party members marched through the capital to the U.S. Embassy, where they burned an American flag and called Obama’s foreign policy “arrogant and oppressive.

Muslim activists held prayers in a car park outside the embassy. Leader Imam Sayeed Mohammed told the group: “We hope that Mandela feels better and that Obama can learn from him.”

MANDELA A “PERSONAL HERO”

Obama sees Mandela, also known as Madiba, as a hero. Whether they are able to meet or not, officials said his trip would serve largely as a tribute to the anti-apartheid leader.

Like Mandela, Obama has received the Nobel Peace Prize and both men were the first black presidents of their nations.

Air Force One departed Senegal’s coastal capital, Dakar, just before 1100 GMT (0700 ET) and was due to arrive in South Africa around eight hours later. On Friday evening, Obama has no public events scheduled and could go to the hospital then.

“When we get there, we’ll gauge the situation,” Obama told reporters.

Obama was scheduled to visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent years in prison under South Africa’s former white minority regime.

He told reporters his message in South Africa would draw from the lessons of Mandela’s life.

“If we focus on what Africa as a continent can do together and what these countries can do when they’re unified, as opposed to when they’re divided by tribe or race or religion, then Africa’s rise will continue,” Obama said.

White House officials said Obama would hold a “town hall” on Saturday with youth leaders in Soweto, the Johannesburg township known for 1976 student protests against apartheid.

He will discuss a new exchange program for African students with U.S. colleges and universities. The event will include youth in Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya participating through video conference, and will be televised in those countries, White House officials said.

The appointment, along with the nomination of human rights advocate Samantha Power to replace Rice as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, signals a shift by Obama toward advisers who favor more robust American intervention overseas for humanitarian purposes. But it’s unclear whether that philosophy will alter the president’s policies in Syria, where he has resisted pressure to use U.S. military force to stem that country’s civil war.

Rice’s appointment provides a measure of redemption after the contentious Benghazi investigations forced her from consideration as Obama’s second-term secretary of state. The president, who vigorously defended Rice from the GOP criticism at the time, lauded his close friend Wednesday as a “patriot who puts her country first.”

“Susan is a fierce champion for justice and human decency. But she’s also mindful that we have to exercise our power wisely and deliberately,” Obama said in a White House Rose Garden ceremony.

The 48-year-old Rice takes the influential national security post in the president’s inner circle from Tom Donilon, who is stepping down in July after more than four years in the Obama White House. The president credited Donilon with having “shaped every single national security policy of my presidency,” including the renewed U.S. focus on the Asia-Pacific region and the tricky American relationship with Russia.

Wednesday’s announcements came as Obama seeks to regroup from three controversies that have emboldened Republicans and threatened to overshadow his agenda: the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative political groups, the Justice Department’s seizure of phone records of Associated Press journalists and the resurgent investigation into the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Rice became entangled in the Benghazi case after asserting in television interviews that the September attack was probably spontaneous, a statement that was later proven false. While Rice said she was relying on talking points crafted by the administration, she became a target for Republicans accusing the White House of trying to cover up a terror attack during the presidential election.

But because Rice’s new job does not require Senate confirmation, some of the GOP lawmakers who doled out the most aggressive attacks appeared resigned to her promotion through the ranks of Obama’s national security team.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, one of Rice’s harshest critics, wrote on Twitter Wednesday that he disagreed with her appointment but would “make every effort” to work with her on important matters.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is welcomingBritish Prime Minister David Cameron to the White House for talks on subjects ranging from Syria’s civil war to preparations for a coming summit of the world’s leading industrial nations in Northern Ireland.

Iran, the Mideast peace process, counterterrorism and trade are other likely topics for Monday’s meeting.

The U.S. and Russia agreed last week to arrange an international conference to bring representatives of the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the opposition to the negotiating table. There is no date yet, but such talks would focus on setting up atransitional government.

Cameron said after a meeting last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin that they both agreed that “we must help drive this process.”

The British leader also said Britain, the U.S., Russia and other countries should take part in setting up a transitional government.

Separately last week, the Obama administration announced it will provide $100 million in new aid to Syria, strictly for humanitarian relief for Syrian refugees and not linked to any possible decision on arming the rebels who seek to topple Assad from power.

Total U.S. humanitarian assistance in the war, now in its third year, will surpass $500 million.

The Obama administration has said it is considering providing weapons to vetted units in the armed opposition, among other military options, following the recent revelation of a U.S. intelligence assessment that suggested chemical weapons use by the Assad regime.

Obama has said use of such weapons would cross a “red line.”

The president and Cameron also will review priorities for the Group of Eight summit. Cameron will preside over the June 17-18 gathering in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. The White House said Friday that Obama would stop in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, before joining the summit.

The visit will be Obama’s first to Northern Ireland.

Costa Rica: President Barack Obama says he won’t comment on an Israeli airstrikeagainst Syria that targeted a shipment of advanced missiles believed to be headed for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israeli officials on Saturday confirmed the strike, which took place early Friday.

Obama told the Spanish-language network Telemundo in an interview that he will defer to the Israeli government for comment. He also repeated his view that the Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weapons to organizations like Hezbollah. The U.S. considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Obama conducted the interview on Saturday, and a portion of the president’s answer to a question about the airstrike was broadcast on MSNBC.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica: President Barack Obama came toLatin America eager to move the region’s relationship with the U.S. beyond fighting drugs and organized crime, yet the pervasive problems still trailed him throughout his three-day trip to Mexico and Costa Rica.

In the Costa Rican capital Friday, Obama defended his administration’s efforts to stem U.S. demand for drugs that many regional leaders see as a driving factor in their security issues. He said the U.S. and Latin America share “common effects and common responsibilities” for the troubles and argued that his country has suffered from the drug epidemic as well.

“There’s a cost obviously in the United States as well,” Obama said during a joint news conference with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. “It’s not as if we don’t have tragic drug problems in the United States.”

The president singled out the violence that has raged in his hometown of Chicago, where the murder rate has soared, saying there are young people killed there “every day as part of the drug trade.”

Obama’s visit is his first to Latin America since winning a second term, in part due to the overwhelming support he received from Hispanic American voters. His trip is being followed with great interest by Hispanics in the U.S. as well as in Mexico, Central America and further to the south.

In both Mexico and Costa Rica, Obama cast economic growth as the best way to combat violence and keep drugs and organized crime from taking hold of another generation.

“We have to make sure that everybody feels opportunity,” the president declared in Costa Rica. “Even in countries that are doing well, the scourge of drugs and drug trafficking will still be there. And there still needs to be a strong law enforcement component. But we can do better than we are currently doing. ”

The president had sounded a similar message earlier Friday in Mexico, which he touted as a nation ready to take “its rightful place in the world.” During a speech to students, he urged Mexico’s young people to help the region move beyond “old stereotypes” and highlighted developments in technology and manufacturing.

While many people in Central America are also weary of the focus on the drug-fueled violence, it remains an undeniable part of daily life in many parts of the region. Costa Rica has fared better than many of its neighbors, but it worries about spillover from nearby countries. Honduras, for example, now has the highest homicide rate in the world, with about 7,200 people murdered last year in the tiny nation of 8 million people, most in drug-related crime.

Obama acknowledged the role of U.S. demand for drugs and said his administration has spent $30 billion to reduce demand in recent years. But he acknowledged that the U.S. is a “big market” and that “progress is sometimes slower than we’d like it to be.”

The president arrived in the capital of San Jose on a rainy afternoon but received a warm welcome from thousands of Costa Ricans who lined the road near the airport. Some waved American flags. Others held homemade signs, including one that said “Fired Up!” — a reference to his campaign slogan — in a much more demonstrative welcome than he had received in Mexico.

After Obama met one-on-one Chinchilla, the first woman to head the Central American nation, the two leaders were serenaded by local schoolchildren waving U.S. and Costa Rican flags.

Later Friday, Obama met with leaders of the regional Central American Integration system, chaired by Chinchilla. The network also includes Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. He’ll speak to business leaders in Costa Rica on Saturday before returning to Washington in the evening.

Obama has also been pressed throughout his trip about the immigration debate raging on Capitol Hill. The president is largely supportive of the bipartisan bill, which would strengthen borders and provide a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11 million people already in the U.S. illegally.

However, the draft legislation leaves out measures Obama has promoted on his own, including the recognition of gay and lesbian couples. Many Republicans are unlikely to support a bill that includes recognition of same-sex couples, raising the question of whether the president would fight for the provision if it meant losing out on a comprehensive bill.

A letter addressed to President Barack Obama was found to contain Ricin Wednesday, the FBI announced, the same day Senate office buildings were partially evacuated following the discovery of “suspicious items” on the Hill.

“A second letter containing a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin was received at an offsite mail screening facility. The envelope, addressed to the President, was immediately quarantined by U.S. Secret Service personnel, and a coordinated investigation with the FBI was initiated,” the FBI announced.

For the second straight day, U.S. Capitol Police investigated a fresh potential threat to lawmakers: “Suspicious items” that led them to clear three floors in two Senate office buildings, according to a spokeswoman.

“Currently, we’re investigating two separate issues,” Lt. Jessia Baboulis told Yahoo News. Capitol Police “have asked that people remain off the first and third floors of the Hart office building, and the third floor of Russell,” another office building.

Asked whether there was any sign that those situations were linked to a letter addressed to Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, which tested positive of the poison Ricin, Baboulis replied: “None at this time.”

The suspicious letters and items on the Hill follow heightened tensions in the wake of Monday’s deadly Boston Marathon bombings.

The letter sent to the president was never near the president or the White House. Following anthrax scares in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, the White House moved all mail processing off-site. The screening facility that caught the president’s letter Tuesday is “not located near the White House complex,” Leary noted in his statement.

“On 4-16-13, a letter addressed to the President containing a suspicious substance was received at the remote White House mail screening facility. This facility routinely identifies letters or parcels that require secondary screening or scientific testing before delivery,” Leary said.

“The Secret Service is working closely with the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI in this investigation,” he said.

News of the intercepted letter to the president was reportedly announced to senators during a briefing Tuesday evening.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — With time running out on the chance to pass gun control legislation, President Barack Obama on Monday warned Congress not to use delaying tactics against tighter regulations and told families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims that he’s “determined as ever” to honor their children with tougher laws.

Obama’s gun control proposals have run into resistance on Capitol Hill, leaving their fate in doubt. Efforts by Senate Democrats to reach compromise with Republicans over expanding required federalbackground checks have yet to yield an agreement, and conservatives were promising to try blocking the Senate from even beginning debate on gun control legislation.

“The day Newtown happened was the toughest day of my presidency,” Obama said in an emotional speech from Connecticut’s capital, an hour’s drive from Newtown. “But I’ve got to tell you, if we don’t respond to this, that’ll be a tough day for me too.”

Some of the Sandy Hook families are making an attempt to push through the bill. Obama met with them privately before his speech at the University of Hartford Monday evening, then brought 12 family members back to Air Force One for the trip back to Washington. The relatives want to meet with senators who’ve yet to back the legislation to encourage their support in memory of their loved ones.

“Nothing’s going to be more important in making sure that the Congress moves forward this week than hearing from them,” Obama said. His eyes teared as he described Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son, Dylan, saying how she asks him every night to come to her in her dreams so she can see him again.

“If there’s even one thing we can do to prevent a father from having to bury his child, isn’t that worth fighting for?” Obama asked.

Obama’s speech was interrupted repeatedly by standing ovations from the packed gymnasium. At one point, the room erupted with chants of “We want a vote!” Audience members, many wearing green ribbons in support of the victims, were stomping their feet on the bleachers and clapping their hands in unison with the chant.

“This is not about me. This is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here who have been torn apart by gun violence,” Obama said, his voice rising with emotion as he shook his finger in the air.

Obama argued that lawmakers have an obligation to the children killed and other victims of gun violence to allow an up-or-down vote in the Senate. That would require 50 votes to pass, rather than a procedural maneuver some Republican senators are threatening to require 60 votes, potentially sinking the legislation.

“Some back in Washington are already floating the idea that they may use political stunts to prevent votes on any of these reforms. Think about that. They’re not just saying they’ll vote no on ideas that almost all Americans support. They’re saying they’ll do everything they can to even prevent any votes on these provisions. They’re saying your opinion doesn’t matter. And that’s not right.