Rice in Asia, counters fear of nuclear arms race

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today reassured Japan that Washington would stand by a commitment to protect its Asian ally and tried to temper concerns of an Asian nuclear arms race after North Korea's nuclear 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 tour of North Asia.

The United States is worried Japan and South Korea might embark on an arms build-up in response to North Korea developing a nuclear arsenal.

''That is why it is extremely important to go out and reaffirm, and reaffirm strongly, US defence commitments to Japan and to South Korea,'' Rice told reporters travelling with her. Referring to an arms race, she said, ''We have a lot of means to prevent that from happening.'' Germany also warned that North Korea's underground test of a nuclear device on October 9 and Iran's refusal to rein in its nuclear program could spark regional arms races.

''Both of these provocations can awaken the desire for nuclear weapons among their neighbors. We must prevent this, which is why we're not at the end of this conflict but at the beginning,'' Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the German weekly magazine Stern.

Germany, France and Britain are drafting a UN Security Council resolution this week that would impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment programme.

tehran says the program is for producing electricity.

RICE SEEKS UNIFIED STANCE Rice will head from Japan to Seoul and Beijing, seeking a unified stance on UN sanctions slapped on Pyongyang last Saturday for exploding a nuclear device.

She made her trip as intelligence experts said satellites had spotted a pick-up in activity at the North's suspected test site, suggesting a second blast may be imminent.

Japan, a traditional target of Pyongyang's animosity, has seen debate increase over whether to acquire nuclear arms. But Foreign Minister Taro Aso reiterated Tokyo had ''absolutely no intentions now of preparing to possess nuclear weapons.'' MORE REUTERS PKS RN2242