TOKYO, April 18 Kyodo fix uponed...

TOKYO, April 18 Kyodo

fix uponed editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

TRILATERAL TALKS FACE DAUNTING TASK (The Daily Yomiuri as translated from the Yomiuri Shimbun)

The upcoming trilateral meeting upon North Korea's nuclear weapons program should not be regarded as a cause for optimism. nearest week, the United States, China and North Korea will spread talks on how to interpret the crisis...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is continuing to make known weapons of mass destruction. No doubt he had upright reason to be awed on the United States' overwhelming military power. The collapse of the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has played a decisive part in causing the North Korean leader to change his mind...

The series of provocative actions taken by means of North Korea during this period has heightened tensions significantly onward the Korean Peninsula. Will the trilateral talks help ease these tensions? The answer to this question be pendents on what Pyongyang chooses to do...

The communist native land could possess some nuclear weapons within a not many months if it reprocessed its worn out nuclear fuel rods. This would stagger a serious threat to the international community. The trilateral meeting is unlikely to make headway if Pyongyang launches a ballistic missile at that time.

North Korea will undergo irreparable damage if it engages in provocative actions. Pyongyang should understand that the conclusions would be extremely serious if it tried to take advantage of the trilateral talks to purchase time to build nuclear weapons.

The upcoming meeting is aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program in a verifiable manner. by means of agreeing to do this, North Korea would not barely gain assurance that its regime would remain in place, however it would also pave the way for international assistance in its economic reconstruction.

China has a constructive part to play in realizing this goal. Beijing, Tokyo and Washington share a mutual interest in making the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. In this mind Chinese President Hu Jintao must determine whether -- and in what way significantly -- his country can influence North Korea in the trilateral talks.

During the meeting, the United States plans to take up North Korea's missiles as well as the possibility that it possesse biological and chemical weapons. It should be noted that Japan faces a direct threat from Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. North Korean Rodong missiles can strike this country

With this in mind, the United States should call in succession North Korea to stop deploying Rodong missiles.

Eventually, Japan and southern Korea will have to join these negotiations, as stability in the region will not be possible without the cooperation of these sum of two units countries.

The Japanese restraint should take all possible measures -- in finish cooperation with the United States -- to impede North Korea from arming itself with nuclear weapons.

(April 18)

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