Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura cautiously welcomed on Monday a joint statement adopted at the six-party talks in Beijing, saying the paper has shown the six nations' "final goals" of solving the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement, Machimura urged North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a verifiable manner for the first time. "It will provide an important basis for the six-nation talks to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

"Only after North Korea implements its commitment to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a verifiable manner, may we discuss the issue of a light-water reactor," Machimura said upon arrival at Tokyo's Narita airport after winding up his trip to New York for UN-related events.

The joint statement adopted by North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States after their weeklong talks in Beijing says the six nations agreed to discuss the issue of a light-water reactor "at an appropriate time."

Machimura also said in the statement that the six countries should implement agreements shown in the joint statement "in an expeditious and steady manner."

Toward that end, the six countries should continue to constructively promote dialogue, the foreign minister said.

But a rough road is expected ahead for the six countries to implement the agreements, he added.

Machimura said Japan will do its utmost to achieve the common goal of peace and security in East Asia in close cooperation with the United States and other countries despite the difficulties in solving the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula.

Meanwhile, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda welcomed the joint statement by saying at a press conference that the statement is "some outcome" of the six-party talks.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2005)