Koizumi expects cooperation over Iraq at G8 talks

Japanese Minister Junichiro Koizumi said yesterday he believes the acrimony between the US and some of its allies over Iraq is largely past, and that he's optimistic this week's summit of leading industrial nations will offer the world a display of unity.

Koizumi, who recently returned from a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, also said Pyongyang is aware of the importance of breaking a diplomatic impasse over its suspected development of nuclear weapons and "moving forward."

Speaking a small group of foreign media, the Japanese leader said he believes Iraq and its transition to self-government will dominate the agenda at the Group of Eight summit in Sea Island, Georgia.

"France, Germany and Russia are not calling for the immediate withdrawal of US forces," he said, as an example of the improvement this year in the mood ahead of the annual summit, which begins tomorrow. "I consider this to be a great chance for the international community to demonstrate its cooperation and for the Iraqi people to stand up on their own two feet."

He was to leave this morning to attend the summit. It is the fourth for Koizumi, who was elected in a landslide victory in April 2001.

Koizumi whose outspoken, maverick approach to leadership is something of a rarity in consensus-conscious Japan -- continues to be one of the most popular leaders this nation has had in decades.

But as he heads to Georgia, he is under pressure amid a national pension scandal that has rocked his Cabinet.

Like of this country's top politicians, Koizumi has acknow-ledged he failed to make all of the proper payments into the system. He has not been accused of any legal wrongdoing, however, or charged with any crimes.

He has also recently been under increasing fire from Japan's opposition for his staunch backing of US President George W. Bush's Iraq policy.

Despite concerns among the Japanese public, Koizumi has sent about 500 non-combatant soldiers to southern Iraq in this country's biggest military mission since World War II.

Koizumi he stands by his support of Bush, but added that it is important to involve the UN as closely in the reconstruction process as is feasible.

"I have made that clear in many talks with American leaders," he said.

On North Korea, Koizumi said Kim indicated an understanding at their summit on May 22 that it is crucial for his impoverished nation to abandon its nuclear weapons program if it is to receive badly needed economic aid.

Koizumi Russian President Vladimir Putin are the only G8 leaders who have met Kim, and his decision to hold a one-on-one with the North Korean leader is a step apart from Washington's policy of dealing with the North primarily through multilateral channels.