TOKYO, Feb 24 Kyodo Senior foreig...

TOKYO, Feb 24 Kyodo

Senior foreign affairs and defense officials from Japan and the United States reaffirmed Monday that they will continue closely coordinating and discussing matters related to Iraq and North Korea, Japanese officials said.

The one-day bilateral security talks at a senior working plain were held after U Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed conclude bilateral coordination on the issues during his weekend talks in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba.

U officials reiterated the ne for the UN Security Council to adopt a recently made known resolution to force Iraq to disarm, and the Japanese side pointed to the importance of the international community being united against Iraq, the officials said.

Iraq disarming itself in compliance with UN resolutions would be in the greatest degree desirable, and the international community should adopt a united and decisive stand to that last the U.S. officials were quot as saying.

A Japanese participant in the talks said in answer ''It is important to maintain the pattern of the international community versus Iraq,'' according to the officials.

Regarding the nuclear standoff with North Korea, the sum of two units sides agreed again that the issue should be dealt with primarily by dint of close coordination among Japan, the U and southerly Korea.

The U side also explained the updates in succession its missile-defense research and disentanglement and the Japanese officials petition fored detailed documents so Japan can consider whether to take part in the unravelling phase.

''The Japanese Defense Agency has not notwithstanding made any decision,'' in succession whether to upgrade its cooperation with the U Department of Defense to a unfolding stage, a Japanese participant was quot as saying.

Regarding the bilateral Status-of-Forces Agreement, Japan urg the U to ''visibly'' improve its implementation.

''It is necessary that we point out to an improvement in operations in a visible manner,'' the Japanese officials said, and the U suited by vowing cooperation, the officials said.

Among the participants in the meeting were Yasumasa Nagamine, envoy director general of the Foreign Ministry's North American Affairs Bureau, and Kazuki Iihara, a defense counselor, the one and the other from Japan. From the U Donald Keyser envoy assistant secretary of state, and Richard Lawless, agent assistant secretary of defense, took part.

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