U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reassured Japan on Wednesday that Washington would stand by a commitment to protect its Asian ally, where North Korea's atomic test has stirred debate about acquiring nuclear weapons.
"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 quick tour of North Asia.
The secretary of state will head from Japan to Seoul and Beijing, seeking a unified stance on U.N. sanctions slapped on Pyongyang for its test of a nuclear device on October 9.
She arrived in Tokyo as intelligence experts warned that satellites had seen an increase in activity at the North's suspected test site, suggesting a second detonation was imminent.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the news conference with Rice that his government had "absolutely no intentions now of preparing to possess nuclear weapons".
"There is no need to have nuclear weapons as the Japan-U.S. security framework will be activated for the defense of Japan," he said. "And Secretary Rice has just reconfirmed that."
Japan, the only country to have suffered from the effects of nuclear bombing, has long forsworn nuclear weapons.
Pyongyang appeared unperturbed by the flurry of diplomatic activity, widespread outrage and U.N. sanctions. A foreign ministry statement said on Tuesday that North Korea had withstood international pressure before and was hardly likely to yield now it had become a nuclear power
SECOND NUCLEAR TEST?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made his first public appearance since the test in Pyongyang on Tuesday night at a massive choreographed sound-and-light extravaganza to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the "Down with Imperialism Union", a precursor to the ruling Communist Workers Party.
Kim listened enthusiastically to a concert where songs such as "Love of Comrades" and "Always looking up to the Leader" were performed, the official KCNA news agency said.
U.S. officials said North Korea had moved equipment into a place that may indicate it plans a second nuclear test. NBC television quoted officials as saying the North's military had already informed China.
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