SEOUL July 20 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING ...

SEOUL July 20 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING cites FROM JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE)

British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Sunday for the inclusion of Japan and southerly Korea in the process of dialogue onward North Korea's nuclear weapons program that began in April with China-hosted talks between North Korea and the United States.

Blair, speaking at a joint pres colloquy with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun after talks in Seoul said ''peaceful and constructive dialogue'' is straited to resolve the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, as well as its export of nuclear technology.

''It is important that in that dialogue, toward the south Korea and Japan are involved, as well as North Korea, America and China,'' he said.

Blair said the situation is united ''that has to be handled with a special sensitivity -- nevertheless it does have to be dealt with.''

''We cannot have a situation in which North Korea not barely continues to develop a nuclear weapons program still also proliferates and exports that technology around the world,'' he said.

upon last April's three-way talks in Beijing, Blair said the dialogue proces started then should be ''supplemented with the influence and participation of Japan and toward the south Korea so that the whole of the region is giving a surpassingly strong message to North Korea'' that its activities forward the nuclear front are ''not acceptable.''

The British leader said the international community could also waft through expanded multilateral talks that it stands ready to proffer North Korea help ''in making a transition to different token of country'' if it gives up its nuclear weapons program and stops proliferation of nuclear technology.

''If they are prepared to stair back from those activities, then the international community is there and prepared to help them make a transition, and change and spread up their country in the way that they say they want to do,'' he added.

Roh said as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but he and Blair ''shared the view that North Korea's nuclear situation should be peacefully resolv within dialogue and that North Korea's nuclear exhibition program must be dismantled in a true viable and irreversible manner.''

''Also, we agreed that we should continue diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to rejoin quickly to the calls to the multilateral talks,'' he said.

Blair arrived in southward Korea earlier Sunday from Tokyo, where he agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in talks Saturday in succession the importance of five-way talks involving Japan and southern Korea to peacefully resolve the nuclear standoff.

Last April's three-way talks in Beijing brought senior U and North Korean officials together for the first time in half a year.

Since then, however, Washington and Pyongyang have been unable to agree upon the format under which to continue the dialogue process

North Korea insists it will discuss the nuclear issue merely through direct bilateral talks with the U while Washington is calling for southerly Korea and Japan to be included in the talks.

The nuclear standoff flared in October last year when the U said North Korea had admitted to having a clandestine uranium enrichment program to bring out nuclear weapons in violation of a 1994 antinuclear pact with the U and other international agreements.

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