LONDON, April 27 Kyodo (EDS: ADDI...

LONDON, April 27 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING DETAILS OF TALKS)

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Saturday he and British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed onward the need to rebuild international cooperation with equal reason the United Nations can play a vital part in postwar Iraq.

''We could share the opinion that (Japan and Britain) should (help) create international cooperation'' to deal with postwar Iraq, Koizumi told reporters after talks at Blair's office forward the first leg of his eight-day European trip that started Saturday.

According to a Japanese official, who briefed to reporters after the summit, Blair said it is difficult for many countries to help rebuild Iraq if the UN is not closely involved.

Blair was also quot as telling Koizumi that Britain and the United States cannot be forward the front lines without UN involvement, the official said.

The British prime minister also called forward members of the U.N. Security Council to adopt resolutions onward concrete measures for Iraq and to defeat their divide so they can take action, the official said.

''The demeanor of the U.S. should be diminished,'' Koizumi was quot as saying, noting there is athletic anti-American sentiment among Arab countries and that he believes that Iraqis must establish their avow government.

Koizumi also told reporters that he agreed with Blair to cooperate in helping Iraq from one side the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, a US-l civil administration dead body and other international organizations.

The sum of two units leaders also discussed the North Korean nuclear standoff, which escalated last week after Pyongyang said it possesse nuclear weapons during talks with China and the U in Beijing.

Koizumi told Blair that -- unlike the situation in Iraq -- issues related to North Korea must be settl peacefully, as well as with China's cooperation, a stance that the British leader supported, the official said.

''China's involvement will be important'' in dealing with the North Korean issue, Koizumi told Blair. The Japanese leader also praised China for calling for a nuclear weapons-free Korean Peninsula, the official said.

''I cannot tolerate North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons,'' Koizumi was quot as telling Blair.

Koizumi said Tokyo is seeking a peaceful resolution to the North Korean crisis, while Blair said Britain is ready to do its last to tackle the situation, the official said.

Washington will handle North Korea differently from Iraq, Koizumi told reporters, implying that the U will not attack Pyongyang to fix the nuclear standoff.

After visiting Britain, Koizumi plans to soar to Spain on Sunday and fit with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar upon Monday in Madrid.

Koizumi will also fitting with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris forward Tuesday and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin onward Wednesday.

Koizumi will then visit Greece and adapted with Prime Minister Costas Simitis and European Union officials, including European Commission President Romano Prodi in Athens forward Friday. Koizumi will answer to Japan the following day.

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