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Rice Confirms US "Nuclear Shield"
Sec. of State hopes to stall Asian arms race with defence guarantee for Japan and S. Korea
Condoleezza Rice has reaffirmed the USA's committment to defending Japan in the event of North Korean aggression. Speaking after the Tokyo stop of her four nation tour to rally support against North Korea's nuclear test, she said "The United States has the will and the ability to meet the full range of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan."
She is expected to confirm the same support for South Korea when she arrives in Seoul today.
Washington has security agreements with both Japan and South Korea - thousands of US troops are already stationed in east Asia. However, Dr Rice's reaffirmation of the security guarantee is designed to ally fears (mainly in China) that North Korea's October 9th nuclear test will drive Tokyo and Seoul to race to develop their own nuclear bomb, pushing the region into a desperate and dangerous arms race.
Next stops for Dr Rice are China and Russia, where she will push governments to accept a strict interpretation of the UN sanctions agreed last weekend.
China has just sent a high-ranking envoy to Pyongyang to 'gently persuade' Kim Jong-Il to call a halt to the test programme - the US will find Beijing's diplomacy encouraging, but is wary of any break up of the united front it hopes to present against the Stalinist state.
South Korea, the BBC reports, is already showing signs of wariness towards the US's tough line, with the Seoul administration nervously reiterating its policy of engagement with its troublesome neighbour.
Russia's approach is enigmatic: It joined the other nations and the UN Security Council in condemning the test, but further action has been suspiciously muted. Official news agencies have reported the test and the diplomatic manoeuvres which followed in a matter-of-fact way. Many in the Kremlin are reported to see North Korea as very much America's problem, and Moscow appears to be planning a "wait and see" approach to the crisis.
Perhaps this is not least due to the fact that the next nuclear crisis is likely to be sparked by Iran, with which Moscow has numerous valuable energy deals.
However, the Russians are almost as keen as China to prevent a nuclear arms race in the region: Russia has ongoing territorial disputes with Japan.
