Rice gets Japan's help, turns to South Korea, China

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) On a mission to toughen Asian resolve to punish North Korea for its nuclear test, U S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won assurances from Japan today but she may have less luck with China and South Korea.

Rice chose close ally Japan to kick off her visit to Asia and Russia, a high-profile mission aimed at mobilising support for U N sanctions imposed on North Korea last weekend after it conducted an underground nuclear test.

''This is an especially important time for allies to work together,'' Rice said at a news conference with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso after the two had discussed how to implement inspections of North Korean cargo for nuclear materials.

Aso assured Rice that his country would coordinate closely with the United States to implement the U N resolution, including exchange of information.

The United States is pushing for aggressive monitoring of all North Korean cargo, be it by road, air or ship, but many questions remain over how this will be done and whether other nations have the stomach to implement them.

Senior U S officials met with their Japanese counterparts after Rice's meeting with Aso to hammer out inspections procedures, what detection equipment should be used and how information should be shared.

Rice sought to soothe fears that the United States wanted to entirely cut off North Korea, which would worsen the humanitarian crisis and lead to a flood of refugees from the impoverished communist state.

"This is not an embargo or a quarantine," she said, MORE REUTERS AB BS1753