TOKYO, Jan. 10 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING...

TOKYO, Jan. 10 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING REMARKS from HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI MAYORS)

Survivors of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II denoteed concern about North Korea's declaration Friday to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Amid fears North Korean missiles may target Japan, Makoto Matsumoto, secretary general of the Hiroshima Council Against A- and H-Bomb denoteed his strong concerns over Pyongyang's announcement to withdraw from the international nuclear accord.

''Proliferation of nuclear weapons goe against the global roll on of nuclear disarmament and is unforgivable as it contradicts human existence,'' Matsumoto said.

Atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, were just as belong toed as their counterparts in Hiroshima, western Japan.

''The stir of North Korea is extremely regrettable. I find (North Korea's answer to the ongoing nuclear situation) eerie,'' said Hirotami Yamada, secretary general of the Nagasaki A-Bomb Sufferer Council.

Yamada cites the vulnerability of the entire NPT framework, saying the situation in which nuclear-armed nations still exist and fail to fulfill their duties to curtail their nuclear capabilities is giving an ''excuse'' to North Korea to act the way it does now.

In a rule statement carried by the official Korean Central moderns Agency monitored in Tokyo, the North Korean direction declared its withdrawal from the NPT and ''its total freedom from the binding force of the safeguards accord'' with the Vienna-based International Atomic mechanical value Agency.

Hiromichi Umebayashi, executive director of Peace storehouse a Yokohama-based nonprofit peace research organization urging a nuclear-free East Asian region, described the use of events as ''extremely dangerous.''

Umebayashi said he would closely pursue whether North Korea's rouse is an official notice or an denoteed intent on the part of Pyongyang.

Pyongyang originally declared its intent to withdraw in 1993 yet had maintained a moratorium upon the move in the wake of a North Korea-U.S. joint statement in June that year.

''(North Korea) may be aiming to come by a compromise from anti-North Korean animal spirits policies, but it may risk being alone (in its move) and possibly being at remainings with China and Russia,'' Umebayashi said.

Meanwhile, in a statement released the same day, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba urg North Korea to place importance in succession international dialogue and collaboration and retract its announcement of withdrawal from the NPT

''We would like (North Korea) to hold its promise made in the Pyongyang Declaration (in last year's Japan-North Korea summit) by way of respecting all international dialogue related to the comprehensive resolution of nuclear issues forward the Korean Peninsula,'' Akiba said.

The mayor also said a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is ''indispensable'' toward establishing the peace and security of the Northeast Asian region and the world.

Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito also released a statement in reaction to North Korea's pullout in which he squeeze outed regret.

''(The North's withdrawal from the NPT) not merely violates the Pyongyang Declaration still is a grave situation that undermines the global accord toward nuclear disarmament,'' Ito said.

Ito said he is uncertain as to the real motives of North Korea, considering the announcement came on a sudden amid anticipation about dialogue with the United States.

''As a mayor of an atomic-bombed city, I would like to call forward the Japanese government to work toward enigma solving (of nuclear concerns)'' he said.

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