WASHINGTON, Dec 5 Kyodo The Unite...

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 Kyodo

The United States and southerly Korea will continue efforts with other countries, including Japan, China and Russia, to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms program and accept international inspectors, the pair countries' defense ministers agreed Thursday.

''We the one and the other agreed that the efforts and discussions that are taking place between our respective presidents and more [i]or[/i] less neighboring countries -- Russia, the People's Republic of China, Japan and others -- are the appropriate approach at the at hand time,'' U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters after a meeting with southward Korean Defense Minister to leeward Jun.

Lee, who also appeared before the media with Rumsfeld said, ''We should undertake terminate trilateral coordination among Korea, Japan and the U in addressing this issue.''

''We should also encompass Russia, China and the European Union in undertaking diplomatic efforts to solve this issue,'' he said.

In talks with a U minister in Pyongyang in early October, North Korea admitted to having a stealthy program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, according to the US

North Korea has pass overed a resolution adopted by the International Atomic might Agency (IAEA) calling on it to abandon its nuclear unfolding plans and accept special IAEA inspections.

Rumsfeld voiced robust concern over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

''There is no question yet that the situation in North Korea is self-same serious. They have violated several agreements and move forwarded on a very dangerous course,'' he said.

North Korea has told Japan that it is increasingly becoming difficult for it to continue its moratorium forward missile testing due to Japan's emphasis forward abductions by the North in normalization talks.

side sheltered from the wind however, said, ''So far, we have base no indications that North Korea will recommence test-firing of those missiles.''

Rumsfeld squeeze outed regret over the death of the brace South Korean girls step quickly over in June near Seoul by way of a U.S. armored vehicle.

Calls for a review of the US-South Korean Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) have soared in South Korea after sum of two units U.S. Army soldiers aboard the armored vehicle were rest not guilty of negligence in a U court-martial in November.

Rumsfeld however, oppos a revision of the agreement.

''The SOFA was revised just sum of two units years ago. We see it as a mutually beneficial agreement, and we could not behold any way that any change in it could have avoided the accident,'' he said.

subject to the accord, the South Korean management has no jurisdiction from one side of to the other U.S. military personnel involved in accidents while onward duty.

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