| News Channels |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
| Quick Links |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
| Entertainment |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
| MAO Exclusives |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| Weather |
| |
|
| |
| Contest Entry |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
| Rice seeks to temper fears of Asian arms race | | By: Sue Pleming and Chisa Fujioka | | .JPG) Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:07 AM ET
(Pic)- Secretary of State Rice answers a reporter's question as Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso watches during a joint news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo October 18, 2006. REUTERS/Itsuo Inouye/Pool
TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reassured Japan on Wednesday that Washington would stand by a commitment to protect its Asian ally, trying to temper concerns of an Asian nuclear arms race after North Korea's atomic test.
"The United States has the will and the capability to meet the full range, and I underscore full range, of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan," Rice told a news conference in Tokyo, the first stop on a quick tour of North Asia.
The United States is worried Japan and South Korea might embark on an Asian arms race in response to North Korea building up a nuclear arsenal -- a concern Vice President Dick Cheney warned of two years ago.
"That is why it is extremely important to go out and reaffirm, and reaffirm strongly U.S. defense commitments to Japan and to South Korea," Rice told reporters traveling with her.
"The vice president was right, something like this has the potential (of creating an arms race) but we have a lot of means to prevent that from happening."
Rice will head from Japan to Seoul and Beijing, seeking a unified stance on U.N. sanctions slapped on Pyongyang for its underground test of a nuclear device on October 9.
She arrived in Tokyo as intelligence experts warned that satellites had seen an increase in activity at the North's suspected test site, suggesting a second detonation was imminent.
Japan is a traditional target of North Korean animosity and debate has increased over whether it should have a nuclear weapons. But Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso reiterated his government had "absolutely no intentions now of preparing to possess nuclear weapons".
"There is no need to have nuclear weapons as the Japan-U.S. security framework will be activated for the defense of Japan," he said. "And Secretary Rice has just reconfirmed that."
Japan, the only country to have suffered from the effects of nuclear bombing, has long forsworn nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang appeared unperturbed by the flurry of diplomatic activity, widespread outrage and U.N. sanctions. A foreign ministry statement said on Tuesday that North Korea had withstood international pressure before and was hardly likely to yield now it had become a nuclear power.
SECOND NUCLEAR TEST?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made his first public appearance since the test in Pyongyang on Tuesday night at a massive choreographed sound-and-light extravaganza to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the "Down with Imperialism Union," a precursor to the ruling Communist Workers Party.
Kim listened enthusiastically to a concert where songs such as "Love of Comrades" and "Always looking up to the Leader" were performed, the official KCNA news agency said.
U.S. officials said North Korea had moved equipment into a place that may indicate it plans a second nuclear test. NBC television quoted officials as saying the North's military had already informed China.
But South Korea said it was not aware of an imminent test.
"As we understand it, China has not received such a notice. We understand the North has not given notice of such a plan," South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung told reporters.
DIPLOMATIC CAMPAIGN
Rice arrived in Asia as the Bush administration begins a diplomatic campaign to rally international support for sanctions agreed on Saturday, particularly in enforcing inspections of North Korean cargo. After Japan, she goes to South Korea on Thursday and Beijing on Friday.
Her biggest challenge will be to get firm assurances from China, worried over the possible collapse of its impoverished neighbor, that it will diligently heed the U.N. resolution.
"We want very much this to be done in a way that is steady, effective," said Rice. "But this is not a blockade or quarantine."
In Dandong on China's border with North Korea, Chinese customs agents checked papers and trucks on Wednesday, but there was no sign of increased scrutiny.
However, the overseas edition of the People's Daily -- the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party -- said North Korea's test had "touched China's warning-line," adding that it had increased the common interest among Beijing, Washington, Tokyo and Seoul.
(Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Jonathan Thatcher, Kang Shinhye and Hong Ki-soo in Seoul, Chris Buckley in Beijing, George Nishiyama and Teruaki Ueno in Tokyo and Steve Holland in Washington)
===============================
The future of marketing is online! Call 478-474-3482 or e-mail us today for great advertising opportunities!
Get a FREE business webpage (or website link) and free advertising with a listing and link in our Business and Website Directory! Finding area businesses has never been easier! Our website gets over a million visitors every month! Make sure you're business is easy to find!
Go to FightGlobalWarming.com for tips on what you can do.
You can post any unlimited classified ad at MAO for only $20 for 30 days! Click here to post your ad now right online!
Boost your Biz! Click here to find out how to get a whole years worth of premium advertising for only $100!
GO BACK HOME
| |
|
|
|
|
| Current Weather |
|
 |
| Local Forecast |
| Post Your Ad
Now! |
 |
| Advertisement |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Partners |
 |
 |
| We support the United Way |
|
 |
|
|
| Click The Seal Above To Make Payments To MAO! |
|
|
|
