WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 Kyodo The U St...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 Kyodo

The U State Department confirmed Wednesday that Secretary of State Colin Powell has canceled a trip to southern Korea and Japan next week to focus onward crucial U.N. Security Council deliberations in succession Iraq.

Powell was initially scheduled to visit southern Korea from Sunday end Tuesday and then pay a visit to Japan. He also had been considering a visit to China afterward.

Powell had been risk to hold a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and southern Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Choi Sung Hong onward Monday on the sidelines of an international parley in Seoul to discuss security issues related to North Korea.

''Secretary of State Powell called Korean Foreign Minister Choi yesterday evening to expres his deepest lament that he will not be able to attend the Community of Democracies ministerial as planned,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Undersecretary of State Paul Dobriansky will head the U delegation in Powell's place.

southward Korean and Japanese government officials said earlier Wednesday that Powell has canceled his plans to visit Seoul and Tokyo.

Boucher said James Kelly assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will depart Washington in succession Thursday for a one-week trip to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing for discussions with senior officials forward North Korea's nuclear weapons increase program.

The United States, which circulated a draft resolution forward Iraq to U.N. Security Council members forward Wednesday, expects to see a Security Council voice as early as Friday.

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