Rice Pledges ‘Full Range’ Defense of Japan; Signs N. Korea Preparing for More Tests

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TOKYO (AP) – America is willing to use its full military might to defend Japan in light of North Korea’s nuclear test, Secretary Rice said Wednesday as she sought to assure Asian countries there is no need to jump into a nuclear arms race.

At her side, Rice’s Japanese counterpart drew a firm line against his nation developing a nuclear bomb.

The top American diplomat said she reaffirmed President Bush’s pledge, made hours after North Korea’s Oct. 9 underground test blast, “that 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.”

Ms. Rice spoke following discussions with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, the first stop on her crisis mission to respond to the threat posed by the North.

Signs continued Wednesday that North Korea might be readying for a second nuclear test that could be carried out as soon as this week, while Ms. Rice is in Asia.

There were reports that North Korea had told China it was ready to conduct up to three more nuclear tests. But at the State Department in Washington, spokesman Tom Casey said, “We certainly haven’t received any information from them, from the Chinese, that they’ve been told by Pyongyang that another test is imminent.”

Ms. Rice’s reference to American willingness to honor the “full range” of the nation’s security commitments was meant as a signal to allies that America does not want to see them embarking on a new nuclear arms race to protect themselves. It was also likely to be taken as a reminder to North Korea that, should it use nuclear weapons on a neighbor, America has powerful forces of its own – including nuclear – and is pledged to defend its friends in the region.

America is concerned that Japan, South Korea and perhaps Taiwan may want to develop their own nuclear weapons programs to counter a threat from North Korea. Such moves would anger China, which already has nuclear weapons, and raise tensions in the region.

North Korea contends it needs nuclear weapons to counter American aggression. America has repeatedly said it does not intend to attack the North or topple its communist government.

The North has a standing army of about 1.2 million, with millions more in reserve, and a supply of missiles capable of reaching Asian cities. North and South Korea are technically still at war more than 50 years after the Korean conflict ended.

America has 29,500 troops stationed in South Korea, plus other air and naval forces in range. While America has no land-based nuclear weapons in Asia, it does have submarines equipped with nuclear weapons whose whereabouts are kept secret.

Japan, home to more than 35,000 U.S. troops, was Ms. Rice’s first stop on a four-day tour of Asia and Russia.

“The United States has no desire to escalate this crisis. We would like to see it de-escalate,” Ms. Rice told reporters.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made his first known public appearance since his country’s recent nuclear test, attending a performance of songs praising him, the North’s official media reported Wednesday.

The date of the performance wasn’t specified in the report by the official Korean Central News Agency, but Mr. Kim would most likely have attended Tuesday evening. Mr. Kim was accompanied by top North Korean party officials and military officers, KCNA said. There was no mention of the nuclear test in the report.

The nuclear test has drawn strong international condemnation and U.N. sanctions that the North has rejected. Pyongyang, in turn, has threatened further unspecified moves.

Shortly before Ms. Rice arrived in Japan, Mr. Aso said his country should openly discuss whether it wants to possess nuclear weapons. He told a parliamentary committee the government has no plans to stray from its post-World War II policy of not allowing nuclear bombs on Japanese soil, “but I think it is important to discuss the issue.”

Even discussing the issue is sensitive in Japan, with its troubled military history and its experience as the only nation where nuclear weapons were used in wartime.

“The government is absolutely not considering a need to be armed by nuclear weapons,” Mr. Aso said with Ms. Rice at his side. “We do not need to acquire nuclear arms with an assurance by Secretary of State Rice that the bilateral alliance would work without fault.”

Later Wednesday, Prime Minister Abe insisted his government would not even discuss building a nuclear bomb.

“That debate is finished,” Mr. Abe testily told reporters.

It was at least the third time since North Korea’s test that Mr. Abe – a defense hawk who came to office last month promising an assertive Japan – has had to reassure jittery neighbors and an anxious America that Tokyo would not abandon its ban.

Japan was trying to develop nuclear weapons in 1945, when America dropped two nuclear bombs to end World War II.

Development of nuclear weapons is not forbidden under the Japanese constitution, but postwar Japan was quick to declare that it was determined never to acquire them.


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