Fukuda would welcome N. Korea declaration for resolving nuke issue

TOKYO, June 25 (Kyodo) - Japan would welcome North Korea's expected move to provide a long-delayed account of its nuclear activities that would lead to its removal from the U.S. list of terror sponsors, if it would help move toward resolution of the nuclear issue, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.

''If the nuclear problem will be resolved, isn't that something desirable, also for our country?...it's something we should welcome,'' Fukuda told reporters when asked whether he would urge U.S. President George W. Bush not to delist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Japan has called for the United States to refrain from taking North Korea off the list until progress is made on the issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals. Tokyo is demanding that Pyongyang fully account for it.

Fukuda also said there is ''no differences in opinions at all'' between Japan and the United States over Washington's policy, and reiterated the need for the two countries to work in close contact to resolve both the nuclear and the abduction issues.

Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said earlier, ''The Japanese government thinks there is a high possibility that the U.S. side will notify Congress of its intention to take the country off its blacklist of terrorism sponsors (following the North's declaration), considering the action-for-action principle.''

He also noted that the United States has offered continuing support for the resolution of the abduction issue and said, ''Such close Japan-U.S. ties will not change.''

The remarks were made after White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday the United States expects North Korea to present a declaration of its nuclear activities on Thursday, a move that would end a six-month stalemate in denuclearization talks triggered by differences over the list.

Once the list is submitted, the United States is to respond by beginning steps to cross North Korea off its blacklist of terrorist sponsors, a longstanding demand by Pyongyang.

Pyongyang's failure to give a credible account of its nuclear programs by the end-of-2007 deadline set by North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia has held up progress in the six-party talks, which China hosts.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said in a separate news conference that he will urge U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when they meet in Kyoto on Friday for ''utmost cooperation'' in keeping up the pressure on Pyongyang to resolve the abductions issue.

''(Japan's stance) is not about saying yes or no to the delisting. The Japanese government will do its best to (urge the U.S. side) to let us use it as a bargaining chip to the fullest,'' Komura said.

He repeatedly stressed that Japan and the United States, as allies, will continue ''close coordination'' and that the delisting can be retracted if North Korea's nuclear declaration and actions to realize progress in reinvestigating the abductions fail to meet expectations.

When asked whether the actual delisting will affect Japan-U.S. ties, Komura said, ''One can say that all sorts of issues affect Japan-U.S. relations but as to what extent the impact will be, it's not for me as foreign minister to comment. If there's a negative impact, then we must ask the United States to work to minimize it.''