No early withdrawal from Iraq: Bush

No early withdrawal of American troops from Iraq because "sober judgment" must prevail over emotional calls: Bush.

US President George W Bush said on Saturday that there would be no early withdrawal of American troops from Iraq because "sober judgment" must prevail over emotional calls to end the military mission before the country is stabilised.

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"We will fight the terrorists in Iraq," Bush said in a speech at a US military air base south of Seoul, the South Korean capital. "We will stay in the fight until we have achieved the victory that our brave troops have fought for. The defence of freedom is worth our sacrifice."

The speech added the president's voice, from thousands of miles away, to a nasty debate in Congress over his Iraq policies and the timing of any US withdrawal. It also continued a rapid-fire White House counter-attack against the president's newly aggressive war critics.

Bush spoke at the end of a three-day stay in South Korea, stopping at the base for little more than an hour after meetings with 20 other Pacific Rim leaders in the port city of Busan.

Immediately after speaking, he left for China- the most anticipated segment of his weeklong Asian swing.

Bush arrived in Beijing today to good news on a difficult front in the US-China relationship, a massive trade deficit that hit a record $162 billion last year. China planned to announce tommorrow that it is making a large purchase- 70 737 aircraft- from Chicago-based Boeing Co, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made.