Tokyo, Nov 18: US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and Japan's defence chief agreed to using "dialogue and pressure" to persuade North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons development, officials said today. Kelly met with defence chief Shigeru Ishiba this morning as he wrapped up the Tokyo leg of a three-nation Asia tour to coordinate policy ahead of multilateral talks expected next month on the North Korean nuclear dispute.


The two officials agreed to continue using "dialogue and pressure" to resolve the year long nuclear crisis, Ishiba told reporters following the meeting.


"Resolving the matter diplomatically and peacefully does not mean accepting everything (North Korea) says," Ishiba said. "If it tries to benefit from nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, missiles or threats ... That is not acceptable," Ishiba said.

Kelly's earlier talks with Japanese officials focused on the question of how to defuse the crisis over North Korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons without compromising Japan's defence.

Japan was shaken when North Korea test-fired a missile over its territory in 1998 and has been moving ahead with plans for a US-developed missile shield.

Kelly and his Japanese counterpart yesterday discussed the possibility of Washington offering written security assurances to North Korea in exchange for a full dismantling of its nuclear program. North Korea has made further negotiations contingent upon such a pact.
Bureau Report