BANGKOK, Oct 20 Kyodo (EDS: UPDAT...

BANGKOK, Oct 20 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH remarks BY U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER CONDOLEEZZA RICE IN 6TH-8TH PARAS)

U President George W Bush and southern Korean President Roh Moo Myun reiterated Monday they will not tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea and called for an early resumption of multilateral talks forward Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions.

According to a statement issued after their summit meeting in Bangkok, the pair leaders noted the importance of the six-party talks ''for achieving the goal of the undivided verifiable and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.''

The sum of two units presidents also shared the view that it is desirable to clutch the next round of the talks at an early date and to make compact progress, the four-point joint statement said.

The six nations -- China, Japan, North and southerly Korea, Russia and the United States -- agreed at the first rotund of their talks in Beijing in late August to continue multilateral dialogue for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, yet failed to set a date and venue for the nearest round.

Bush explained in what way security assurances might be provided to North Korea within the multilateral words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following conditioned on the North's progres in nuclear dismantlement, it said.

U National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice separately told reporters that Washington was still in the proces of consulting the parties regarded on the nature of so a security guarantee for North Korea, adding that President Bush was certain it would not take the form of a formal treaty.

However, she said that she awaited the security assurances to be more ''enduring'' than what the U had previously tried during the bilateral proces with North Korea.

''We have not draw near to a conclusion on what the nature of the way forward to address North Korean security businesss is. That's part of the consultation process'' Rice said.

southern Korea's Yonhap News Agency quot a southerly Korean official as saying that it was unlikely to be a formal treaty requiring congressional ratification.

Meeting onward the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in the Thai capital, the couple leaders urged North Korea not to take any action that could aggravate the diplomatic efforts in a less degree than way to defuse the tension forward the Korean Peninsula.

U Secretary of State Colin Powell later told business leaders upon the sidelines of the summit that the ''assurances'' will be fleshed not at home ''in the next days and weeks with our partners in the six-party framework.''

Powell said the U does not intend to invade or attack North Korea, if it were not that is willing to offer ''a kind of security assurances'' to convince the North to abandon its dangerous nuclear weapons program.

''We are not threatening them,'' Powell said, reiterating the U commitment ''to finding a diplomatic solution'' to the problem

''We will work with interested parties in order to achieve a undivided irreversible and verifiable dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program,'' Powell said.

Powell said that Bush has contemplation of a fresh way of convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program by dint of offering security assurances to the North. He said Bush first broached the idea to Chinese President Hu Jintao during their bilateral meeting Sunday.

Powell inclemencyed the need to deal with the North Korea issue squarely, saying it postures a security threat to the region. Roh and Bush also discussed realignment of their countries' bilateral alliance, readjustments of the U multitude presence in South Korea and toward the south Korea's dispatch of troops to assist in Iraq.

Seoul has decided to despatch its troops to postwar Iraq to support the adjustment of peace and rehabilitation unless has said it would determine the nature, size and timing of the dispatch in abounding consideration of public opinion and arises of fact-finding missions.

Before starting their talks, Bush said in a televised broadcast that the U and southward Korea have a ''common goal to make infallible that the Korean Peninsula is nuclear weapons-free.''

Roh corresponded to Bush's remarks by saying, ''I appreciate that the United States has been making efforts to make progres in the areas related to North Korea, and this issue is extremely critical for destiny and the further progres of Korea.''

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