Manila hopes to host N.Korea nuclear talks at ARF

TOKYO, May 23 (Reuters) The Philippines hopes to hold a meeting among the members of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme when Manila hosts a regional gathering in August, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said today.

Arroyo told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that she hoped that foreign ministers from the six countries would meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), to be held on Aug.2.

''All of the countries of the six-party talks will be present .. It will be a good opportunity to make some headway at the foreign ministers' level,'' a Japanese official quoted Arroyo as saying.

ARF is Asia-Pacific's main security grouping, and in addition to the 10 ASEAN nations, brings together other countries including all of the members of the six-party talks.

At the February round of the talks, North Korea agreed to begin work to scrap its nuclear weapons programme but has not taken the steps, demanding that formerly frozen funds in a Macau bank be transferred to North Korea first.

Arroyo, in Tokyo to attend a seminar, said that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be taking part in the August gathering, the Japanese official said. It is not clear whether North Korea would attend.

While Manila has repeatedly stated its willingness to host such a meeting on the North Korean nuclear issue, a separate Japanese official said it was premature to talk about it, and Abe only told Arroyo that Tokyo would give consideration to the idea.

REUTERS SG ND1620