Japan, S.Korea agree N.Korea nuclear test a threat

SEOUL, Oct 9 (Reuters) South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said on Monday a North Korean nuclear test could spark an atomic arms race, but Japan said it would keep its own ban on nuclear weapons.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and Roh had agreed in talks in Seoul that a North Korean nuclear test, if confirmed, would constitute a grave threat to the region and the world.

Abe flew to Seoul today to mend ties with his neighbour, but the trip was overshadowed almost as soon as he had landed by North Korea's announcement that it had conducted a nuclear test.

''We agreed that if North Korea's nuclear test is confirmed, it would be a grave threat not only to Japan and South Korea and neighbouring countries, but to international peace and security,'' Abe told a news conference after talks with Roh.

Abe also said Japan would immediately consider harsh measures in response and that he had told his government to seek U N Security Council talks on the issue.

Roh, speaking at a separate news conference, said: ''In the long run, this is a dangerous play that could spark a nuclear arms build-up in other countries.'' Analysts have said a North Korean nuclear test would shake regional stability and give ammunition to Japanese hawks who want to beef up Japan's military, but that it would not necessarily lead to a nuclear arms race in North Asia.

''There is absolutely no change to Japan's policy over nuclear weapons,'' Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference in Tokyo.

Abe arrived in Seoul after fence-mending talks in China and was hardly on the ground before North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear test.

Japan backs a hard line toward Pyongyang, while South Korea and China -- leery of instability on the peninsula -- have cautioned against backing the North into a corner.

All three agree North Korea should end its nearly year-long boycott of six-country talks on ending its nuclear programme and all three had warned the North not to carry out a nuclear test.

MILITARISTIC PAST Relations between Seoul and Tokyo cooled under Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, because of his visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine, where war criminals are among the venerated. ''Japan, in the past, inflicted grave damage and suffering on the people of Asia and left scars,'' Abe said.

''Sixty years of Japan's post-war history is built on our deep remorse for that and the Japanese people, including myself, share that feeling and will continue to carry that feeling,'' he said, adding he would seek a ''future-oriented'' relationship with Seoul.

But he declined again to say if he would visit Yasukuni while in office, saying he would deal with the matter ''appropriately''.

Roh said he had not pressed Abe for a clear promise.

''I believe it will be difficult for Abe to promise everything all at once, given that he has held a political position so far.'' ''We set our diplomacy to engage in dialogue to convince Japan not to make the visit,'' Roh added. ''I did not demand an answer on whether he would visit (Yasukuni) or not.'' But he said ties would be strained if Abe visited the shrine.

In Beijing -- on the first visit there by a Japanese leader for five years -- Abe agreed with Chinese leaders to repair relations, expressing ''deep remorse'' for past Japanese actions.

Chinese leaders hailed Abe's visit as a ''turning point'' and struck a conciliatory tone, and the two countries said their relationship had been lifted to a strategic level.

Abe broke with tradition in making the first overseas trip by a new Japanese prime minister to Beijing rather than Washington.

State television also quoted Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao as saying China and Japan should keep up mutual visits by state leaders, suspended since 2001.

All three countries have been keen to mend ties because of tight economic links. China replaced the United States as Japan's top trade partner in 2004, and Japan's trade with China -- including Hong Kong -- reached 2 billion last year.

Japan and South Korea, also major trading partners, have more areas of overlap with their industries competing in areas such as cars, semiconductors and home electronics.

REUTERS