NEW YORK, Oct 21: With the revelations of North Korea’s nuclear programme and because of the international pressure, the United States has toned down its demand for the removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, focusing instead on stringent UN weapons inspections.

The Bush administration had been calling for a “regime change” for many months, but now Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a spirit of compromise that the US might not insist on his removal if President Saddam abandoned the weapons of mass destruction and allowed the country to be completely disarmed of such arms.

However, he warned, if the Iraqi president obstructed weapons inspectors again, the US would act irrespective of the United Nations resolution.

The statement, diplomats say, is aimed at softening France’s opposition to a new resolution toughening the inspections regime which the US wants to move in the Security Council. Mr Powell expects the resolution to be moved early this week.

Mr Powell said: “We think that the Iraqi people would be better off with a different leader, a different regime,” he told an NBC television programme.

“If Saddam once again frustrates the inspection regime, makes it clear that he is not going to cooperate, I think that is a matter of utmost gravity. And the president has said clearly that if in that instance the United Nations will not act, then the United States, with other like-minded nations, will act. And the resolution that’s under consideration would in no way affect the president’s ability to do that in a negative way if that’s what he chooses to do at the time,” Mr Powell said.

Talking about the resolution, he said that first of all it must document the “fact” that Iraq was in violation of many UN resolutions over years. Secondly, it must contain new inspection regime so that President Hussein cannot defeat it the way he did the previous ones.