TOKYO, Feb 28 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATIN...

TOKYO, Feb 28 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH KAWAGUCHI'S TALKS WITH southerly KOREAN FOREIGN, TRADE MINISTER)

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi upon Friday called on China to participate in propos multilateral talks to achieve a Korean Peninsula unrestrained of nuclear weapons and encourage Pyongyang to join, Foreign Ministry officials said.

Separately, Kawaguchi and her southern Korean counterpart reaffirmed the importance of stop up cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States to deal with North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons unfolding program.

In 50-minute telephone talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, Kawaguchi said Japan will closely cooperate with China as well as other countries and international organizations to impel Pyongyang to ''honestly'' deal with the nuclear issue.

She also called for support from China, which traditionally has friendly relations with Pyongyang, to liquefy the issue, the officials said.

Tang was quot as telling Kawaguchi that achieving a Korean Peninsula exempt of nuclear weapons is important and that China will play a part to resolve issues concerning North Korea's nuclear weapons evolution program peacefully and diplomatically.

The Chinese minister also said Beijing will continue to closely take counsel and cooperate with Tokyo forward the issue, the officials said.

North Korea is believed to have reactivated its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon which had been suspended subordinate to a 1994 accord with the US

Kawaguchi told Tang it is ''regrettable'' that Pyongyang has not answered positively to calls by the international community to solve the nuclear issue.

Separately, Kawaguchi told Yoon Young Kwan, newly appointed southern Korean foreign affairs and trade minister, in telephone talks that she welcomes Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and southern Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's reaffirmation Tuesday that Japan, toward the south Korea and the U will work together to disentangle the nuclear weapons issue.

Kawaguchi also told Yoon that Japan will solicit to normalize ties with North Korea at resolving the abduction and nuclear weapons issues and in a way that contributes to the peace and stability of Northeast Asia.

Yoon told Kawaguchi that terminate collaboration among the three countries is crucial to analyze the North Korean nuclear issue and that Seoul will further advance cooperation to that end.

The southerly Korean minister also hoped Japan will be able to unfold contentious issues with North Korea as early as possible and normalize ties with Pyongyang to contribute to peace forward the Korean Peninsula.

forward the Iraq weapons crisis, Kawaguchi told Tang it is important that the international community uses pressure on Iraq to dismantle weapons of mass destruction and that Japan will make most remote diplomatic efforts to help analyze the issue, according to the officials.

She reiterated Japan's support for a strange resolution submitted Monday at the U.S., Britain and Spain, which would clear the way to forcefully disarm Iraq.

Japan plans to transmit a special envoy over the weekend to Iraq as a last-ditch effort to achieve a peaceful resolution to the issue.

Tang told Kawaguchi it is important to avoid a war by dint of seeking a political solution subject to the framework of the United Nations.

China, single of the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members with veto power, is calling for continued stepped-up UN weapons inspections.

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