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Rice to meet Japan PM on N Korea Rice N Korea tour heads to Seoul
(about 4 hours later)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to meet Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on her tour rallying support for UN sanctions on North Korea. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has headed to South Korea as part of an Asian tour to bolster opposition to North Korea's nuclear testing.
In Tokyo, the tour's first leg, she said the US would back its allies with its full military capability against any threat from Pyongyang. Earlier on Thursday she met Japan's PM in Tokyo and again warned North Korea not to carry out a second nuclear test.
The trip follows a UN Security Council vote backing sanctions in response to North Korea's nuclear test. The trip follows a UN Security Council vote backing sanctions in response to North Korea's test.
She and Japan's Foreign Minister, Taro Aso, will later fly on to Seoul. Correspondents say Ms Rice will face a more wary reception in the South which favours engagement with the North.
On Wednesday, US President George W Bush warned North Korea in a television interview it would face "grave consequences" if it tried to transfer nuclear weapons. As she continued her tour, a North Korean official gave the country's first indication it may be preparing a second nuclear test.
Defence commitments And on US television, President George W Bush warned North Korea it would face "grave consequences" if it tried to transfer nuclear weapons.
Ms Rice's hastily arranged visits to Japan, South Korea, China and Russia are aimed at rallying support to implement sanctions fully in line with the UN resolution passed last week. Cargo inspections
Ms Rice first met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
N KOREA NUCLEAR PROGRAMME Believed to have 'handful' of nuclear weaponsBut not thought to have any small enough to put in a missileCould try dropping from plane, though world watching closely Q&A: Nuclear crisis N Korea's mercurial leaderN KOREA NUCLEAR PROGRAMME Believed to have 'handful' of nuclear weaponsBut not thought to have any small enough to put in a missileCould try dropping from plane, though world watching closely Q&A: Nuclear crisis N Korea's mercurial leader
South Korea, and to a greater extent China, are thought to have concerns over some parts of the new UN sanctions. Amid concern in Washington that the crisis could encourage other Asian nations to develop their own nuclear weapons programmes, Ms Rice stressed that the US was ready to act on its defence commitments to Japan.
Ms Rice said she and Mr Aso had pledged to work together for the swift and effective implementation of all the measures detailed in UN resolution 1718. Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tokyo was "absolutely not considering a need to be armed by nuclear weapons".
Amid concern in Washington that the crisis could encourage other Asian nations to develop their own nuclear weapons programmes, she stressed that the US was ready to act on its defence commitments to Japan. Japan's Kyodo news agency said the US and Japan had agreed to examine the role of the military in searching North Korean cargo ships.
"The United States has the will and the capability to meet the full range - and I underscore the full range - of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan," she said. Ms Rice said: "The United States has no desire to escalate this crisis, in fact we would like to see it de-escalate."
Mr Aso, who had earlier called for a debate on whether Japan should obtain nuclear weapons for itself, said the government was "absolutely not considering a need to be armed by nuclear weapons". Ms Rice and Mr Aso later flew on to Seoul to rally support for the full implementation of sanctions in line with the UN resolution.
NEW UN SANCTIONS Bans sale to, or export from, N Korea of military hardwareBans sale or export of nuclear and missile related itemsBans sale of luxury goodsFreezes finances and bans travel of anyone involved in nuclear, missile programmesAllows inspection of cargo to and from N KoreaStresses new resolution needed for further action href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6043610.stm" class="">Who stands where "We do not need to acquire nuclear arms with an assurance by US Secretary of State Rice that the bilateral alliance would work without fault," he said. But the BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul says Ms Rice can expect a wary reception from the South, which is pushing for a less confrontational approach and still favours a policy of reconciliation and economic engagement.
The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says that there is strong support in Japan for implementing the sanctions. NEW UN SANCTIONS Bans sale to, or export from, N Korea of military hardwareBans sale or export of nuclear and missile related itemsBans sale of luxury goodsFreezes finances and bans travel of anyone involved in nuclear, missile programmesAllows inspection of cargo to and from N KoreaStresses new resolution needed for further action href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6043610.stm" class="">Who stands where href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6063158.stm" class="">Discord over ship searches
Japan is seeking ways within the limits of the country's pacifist constitution to help the US operate a stop-and-search operation in the waters surrounding North Korea to try to prevent illegal cargo getting through. However, the South Korean Yonhap news agency said Seoul was preparing to bolster the inspection of cargo heading to the North and to block subsidies to a joint tourism project there.
But our correspondent says Ms Rice will face stronger opposition in Seoul and Beijing, which fear such operations could spark clashes at sea. A US diplomat said Ms Rice would again press the South on the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative which was set up in 2003 to inspect illicit cargoes carried on North Korean ships.
The South has been reluctant to join for fear of sparking conflict with the North.
Ms Rice's tour also takes her to Russia and China, which is thought to have even greater concerns over some parts of the new UN sanctions.
Test fearsTest fears
The tour comes amid concerns that the North might conduct another nuclear test.The tour comes amid concerns that the North might conduct another nuclear test.
We want peace but do not fear war N Korea's foreign ministry href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6058316.stm" class="">Full text of statement href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=4191&edition=2&ttl=20061009081648" class="">Send us your comments We would stop the transfer, and we would deal with the ships... or the airplane that was... taking the material George W Bush
Renewed activity has been reported at last week's test site, and both South Korea and Japan say they have intelligence of possible preparation for a second test. On ABC television in the US the deputy head of North Korea's foreign ministry, Li Gun, said a second test would be "natural" and that the US should not be surprised if one were carried out.
In the past, North Korea is thought to have staged activity at nuclear and missile sites purely to attract attention and step up diplomatic pressure, the BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul says. Ms Rice in Tokyo warned of "further measures" if the North carried out another test.
On Tuesday, North Korean state media dubbed the new UN sanctions against it a "declaration of war".
In his television interview, President Bush said the US would use whatever means necessary to prevent the North transferring nuclear weapons to third parties such as Iran or al-Qaeda.In his television interview, President Bush said the US would use whatever means necessary to prevent the North transferring nuclear weapons to third parties such as Iran or al-Qaeda.
"We would stop the transfer, and we would deal with the ships... or the airplane that was... taking the material," Mr Bush told ABC News."We would stop the transfer, and we would deal with the ships... or the airplane that was... taking the material," Mr Bush told ABC News.