Rice calls for swift action on North Korea

The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the swift and effective implementation of sanctions against North Korea today, arguing in Tokyo, Japan, that the United States had no desire to escalate the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear test.

Rice also reaffirmed Washington's commitment to the defence of Japan, its top ally in the region and home to 50,000 US troops.

North Korea's nuclear test last week has raised concerns of an arms race in the region.

"The United States has no desire to escalate this crisis. We would like to see it de-escalate," Rice said in a joint news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso.

"This is not a blockade or a quarantine," she added, referring to the UN sanctions.

Aso, meanwhile, reiterated that Japan had no plans to develop nuclear weapons. Many fear that such a move by Japan could encourage South Korea to follow suit and anger China, rising tensions in the region.

"The government is absolutely not considering a need to be armed by nuclear weapons," Aso said.

"We do not need to acquire nuclear arms with an assurance by US Secretary of State Rice that the bilateral alliance would work without fault. "

Rice arrived in Tokyo today for talks with Japanese officials amid fears North Korea could be readying for a second nuclear test.

After Aso, she was to meet with Defence chief Fumio Kyuma today and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tomorrow before heading with Aso to Seoul.

Of immediate concern was the prospect of North Korea following its October 9 test with a second nuclear detonation, a move that would heighten tensions further.

South Korea today urged the North not to take any action that would conflict with a UN resolution sanctioning Pyongyang for the test.

Rice arrived in Tokyo as Japan was debating how far it can go to join in helping the US military to board and search North Korean ships as allowed under UN Security Council sanctions passed over the weekend.

Japan's pacifist constitution bans the armed forces from offensive actions, and it was unclear whether such searches on the high seas would violate the charter.

The national Yomiuri newspaper reported that Japan was expected to offer naval backup for those searches when Rice arrived in Tokyo.

Japan plans to dispatch destroyers, P-3C patrol aircraft and surveillance planes to waters near Japan to search for or pursue suspicious vessels and assist the inspections, the paper said.

Rice told reporters accompanying her to Japan that Washington was concerned the North Korean test could spark an arms race in the region, and that it was important to tell US allies Japan and South Korea that Washington's defence umbrella was dependable.

Abe has pledged that Japan - the only country ever attacked with atomic weapons - would stick to its ban on possessing or producing nuclear weapons, but some officials have said that Tokyo should discuss its defence options.