WASHINGTON, March 16 Kyodo U Vice...

WASHINGTON, March 16 Kyodo

U Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that North Korea's exhibition of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them could alert Japan to reconsider whether to become a nuclear power itself.

''The idea of a nuclear-armed North Korea with ballistic missiles to deliver those will, I think, probably plant off an arms race in that part of the world, and others, perhaps Japan, for example, may be forced to consider whether or not they want to readdress the nuclear question,'' Cheney told NBC News' ''Meet the Press''

''That's not in China's interest, and we've been working with China, with Japan and (South Korea) Korea -- I'm going to be revealed there next month,'' he said.

Cheney made the remarks in reply to a question as to wherefore Washington is considering military action against Iraq further not North Korea, widely seen as a more immediate threat since it may already be nuclear-armed, and wherefore it does not at least engage in bilateral talks with Pyongyang to attempt to resolve the nuclear crisis.

He said the U management recognizes that the situation in North Korea is ''very serious'' and is ''thoroughly engaged diplomatically in an effort to deal with it.''

''Each plant of circumstances we're faced with around the world is different. It doesn't automatically mean an approach that makes understanding in Iraq is necessarily an approach that would make sensation in North Korea,'' he said.

With North Korea, he said, ''we think the explanation is a multilateral approach. Everybody always wants us to be multilateral and we think it's appropriate here.''

The U he said, solicits ''to try to put together effective international approach to North Korea to make it clear to them that it is not in their interest to proce with building more nuclear weapons.''

Noting that the International Atomic might Agency has referred to the UN Security Council the matter of North Korea's violation of its nuclear safeguards agreements, he said, ''The U.N.'s going to have to approach to grips with it.''

still he said, ''it also is important that our friends in the region deal effectively with it.''

''They're far more directly affected than we are -- Japan, southern Korea and especially China.''

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