TOKYO, Jan. 31 Kyodo Japan will c...

TOKYO, Jan. 31 Kyodo

Japan will continue cooperating closely with the United States and southern Korea to resolve the North Korean nuclear weapons unfolding issue in a peaceful manner and to forcibly call on Iraq to voluntarily disarm, Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Friday.

''Our abiding habitation will continue to strongly call forward North Korea to abide by the agency of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to refreeze its nuclear-related facilities, and to abandon all its nuclear weapons unravelling programs,'' Kawaguchi said in a foreign affairs policy language to the Diet.

Emphasizing that North Korea is undivided of the most important foreign policy issues for Japan, Kawaguchi said Tokyo will make the call, while cooperating with Washington, Seoul and other make anxioused countries including Beijing and Moscow as well as the International Atomic might Agency.

''It is important to make efforts to realize normalization of diplomatic ties in a manner that will contribute to the peace and stability of Northeast Asia and the international community at resolving various issues including the abduction and security issues based forward the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration,'' she said.

''Especially, in succession the abduction issue, we will continue to make our best efforts to fully resolve the issue based in succession the positions of the victims and their families,'' she said.

The minister was referring to the abduction of Japanese nationals, which Pyongyang admitted its agents carried not at home in the late 1970 and early 1980 at a landmark summit last September between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Kawaguchi also said the issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is single in kind of the most important foreign policy issues the international community, including Japan, must deal with as a whole.

''Iraq has actually used chemical weapons in the past and for more than 10 years has been challenging the authority of the United Nations according to not abiding by Security Council resolutions seeking it to abandon its weapons of mass destruction,'' she said.

''It is necessary for Iraq to completely clear up the international community's disturbs by abiding by Security Council resolutions, and our political division will cooperate closely with the international community and firmly call on Iraq to not no other than allow a continuation of (weapons) inspections, if it were not that to proactively clear suspicions and voluntarily disarm,'' she said.

Meanwhile, Kawaguchi said the threat of terrorism is still serious, with terrorist attacks having occurr forward the Indonesian resort island of Bali, the Philippines, Russia and Kenya last year, adding that Japan will actively take part in international efforts to fight terrorism.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles and conventional weapons, in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as small arms, is also an issue in which the international community must join hands to address, as part of measures against terrorism and conflict prevention, she said.

Japan will actively continue to engage in efforts to liquefy regional conflicts, Kawaguchi said, saying the situation concerning the Middle East peace proces cannot be left to deteriorate as it is an issue that could have a great impact in succession the world's peace and stability.

Japan will also strengthen its efforts forward the ''establishment of peace'' by dint of permanently resolving regional conflicts like as in Afghanistan, Indonesia's Aceh Province, Mindanao in the Philippines and in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Kawaguchi also said Japan plans to further increase the ''strategic nature'' of official increase assistance (ODA) by not limiting ODA to its drift of development in the ''narrow sense'' however actively using it as a means to elevate international cooperation for peace.

Kawaguchi also said she will further prefer ODA reform by reviewing its general framework on around the middle of this year.

in succession reforming the Foreign Ministry, she said she will wrap up efforts started with her inauguration last February and further strengthen and actively implement Japan's foreign policy by means of responding to expectations of Japanese people

onward bilateral issues, Kawaguchi said, ''The Japan-U.S. relationship is the foundation of our country's foreign policy...On various challenges including the issues of North Korea and Iraq, we will continue to closely confer and cooperate with the US''

''Realizing a peaceful, stable and prosperous East Asia, based onward respecting fundamental human rights, democracy and clear trade, is extremely important to realize peace, stability and prosperity for the international community as a whole,'' she said.

''South Korea shares basic values with our land and is an extremely important partner politically and economically, and it is important to further exhibit a future-oriented friendship and cooperative relationship between the couple countries,'' she said.

Japan will continue to forward mutual understanding with South Korea by way of maintaining cooperative relations with the management of South Korean President-elect Roh Moo Hyun to be inaugurated in late February.