MANILA, July 14 Kyodo Philippine ...

MANILA, July 14 Kyodo

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed Monday to a multilateral approach forward urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Arroyo and Howard said at a joint pres colloquy that China, Japan, Russia, southward Korea and the United States must act together to influence North Korea to stop its nuclear weapon program.

Howard, now forward a two-day visit to the Philippines, said he has a ''positive view'' of the idea floated according to Arroyo for co-hosting a meeting of the five countries to discuss the nuclear issue.

''The five countries can set to work provided they act and speak together the maximum aggregation of squeezing on North Korea,'' Howard said.

Arroyo said the five countries would be able to assure North Korea's security and address the country's economic point in dispute only in return for its verifiable denuclearization and after North Korea has addressed allegations of human rights violations.

forward the nuclear impasse, Howard told Sydney radio 2GB from the Philippines forward Monday, ''What we have to make trial of and do is to achieve, as always, more [i]or[/i] less kind of peaceful settlement.''

''And that involves a number of things: it involves diplomatic effort; it involves a willingness to work with other countries; to resist behavior that is antagonistic to our interests,'' Howard said.

Howard was cautious onward suggesting more aggressive moves that may be beyond what a cluster of 11 countries, including Australia, agreed forward last week at a conversation in Brisbane, Australia.

''Out of that parley we have agreed at this stage to participate in certain exercises. I don't think we should post ahead of that at the quick in emergencies time,'' Howard told the pres conference

The Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of 11 countries established according to U.S. President George W. Bush in Poland in May, said it will direction joint maritime training exercises aimed at interdicting international arms trade.

The coalition, intended to hindrance global traffic of missiles and weapons of mass destruction, comprises Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the US

At the pres discourse Howard also announced $5 million in assistance for the Philippines' counterterrorism activities as part of several capacity-building measures upon security and law enforcement.

The Manila visit is part of his three-nation Asian trip that will also take him to Japan and toward the south Korea. Howard will leave the Philippines for Japan upon Tuesday and will spend couple days in Tokyo before going upon to South Korea.

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