PARIS (Reuters) - The Group of Eight world powers urged North Korea Friday to rapidly dismantle its nuclear arms program, calling it a threat to international peace and stability.
The G8 foreign ministers, meeting for talks in Paris in preparation for a summit in France next month, also pressed Iran to offer more guarantees on its nuclear ambitions.
The G8 countries -- the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, Russia and Japan -- pledged new joint action to fight terrorism as France and the United States said it was time to set aside their dispute over the Iraq (news - web sites) war.
"Ministers call on North Korea to respect its commitments, to refrain from any action that would aggravate the situation and to embark on the full, prompt, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program," they said in a joint statement.
In October, Washington said Pyongyang had admitted to a covert program to enrich uranium for nuclear arms.
The G8 statement also expressed worries about Iran and called on Tehran to allay these fears by signing a new protocol with the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran insists its nuclear programs are purely to generate electricity.
RAPPROCHEMENT
France's support for a U.S.-drafted resolution ending U.N. sanctions against Iraq Thursday meant Washington and Paris could focus fully on such common interests as the fight against terror, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.
"We are determined to look ahead and face the future challenges," he told a news conference after the meeting ahead of the June 1-3 summit in the French Alp spa town of Evian.
Following recent lethal attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, Villepin said the G8 countries were "totally mobilized against international terrorism."
"We pledged to pursue our effort further ... by supplementing measures relating to the financing of terrorism," a statement issued after the talks by France, current G8 president, said.
The statement gave no further details. But French officials have said measures to be studied at Evian will include aid to help poor countries crack down against terror funds, as well as steps to enhance transport security.
Secretary of State Colin Powell -- who had a 45-minute breakfast with Villepin described by French diplomatic sources as friendly -- also put a positive slant on relations with Paris soured by France's stand against war in Iraq.
"The U.S. and France have been friends and allies for many years. We have had a serious disagreement in recent months ... We are working our way through that," he said.
He did not repeat his comments Thursday that parts of Washington's relationship with Paris were under review.
Despite the rapprochement, there are doubts as to whether the mood is ripe for meaningful accords in Evian, notably in breaking a deadlock between Europe and the United States on trade disputes hampering the current Doha round of negotiations.
Powell said only that he expected a "full discussion" on trade issues at the summit.
He declined to comment on whether the United States would back a French push to re-balance trade rules more in favor of African nations -- one of French President Jacques Chirac's main ambitions for the summit.
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