"The North Koreans are the ones that are isolated in this, and they ought to return to those talks so that people don't have to contemplate other measures," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "They have a path ahead of them."

The comments came after four-way talks involving Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, and Yoshinori Ono, the head of Japan's Defense Agency.

Earlier this week, Pyongyang said it was indefinitely suspending its participation in six-party talks, which also involve China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. It also for the first time acknowledged it had nuclear weapons and said it will work toward expanding its nuclear arsenal.

Machimura, the Japanese foreign minister, said though concerns over North Korea's nuclear program were not new, Pyongyang's public statements added to the urgency of resolving the issue.

"Should we let time slip by then I think it will only worsen the situation," he said. "I'm sure the international community will become tougher if North Korea" does not come back soon.

In 2002, North Korea was discovered to have violated a 1994 agreement with Washington to scrap its nuclear weapons program in return for fuel. It later expelled international weapons inspectors and withdrew from proliferation accords. For the past two years, the five nations have met North Korea in Beijing for three rounds of talks on the nuclear program. An expected fourth round in Septembe r, after the third round in June, never took place.

Also Saturday, Wang Jiarui, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's international department, was in Pyongyang where he met with Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's No. 2 leader. He is also scheduled to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to persuade him to return to talks on the nuclear issue. China has emerged as a key player in the six-party process and provides a virtual economic lifeline to the North Korean regime. North Korean officials said, however, they will not return to talks.

Machimura said he hoped the Chinese will play a more emphatic role in persuading the North Koreans to return.

"We hope that the Chinese will serve as not just a mere moderator but also a player actively working on the North Koreans," he said.

Rice said: "We would hope there will be message to the North Koreans of the kind the Chinese have been delivering publicly as well as privately, which is that they believe that not only are the north Koreans return to the talks but they return to the talks knowing it is the collective view of the other members of the body that there can be no nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula."

The talks also produced a joint statement in which Japan for the first time publicly aligned itself more closely with the U.S. position that China's relations with Taiwan posed a security threat to the region.

The statement said the common strategic objectives included developing "a cooperative relationship with China, welcoming the country to play a responsible and constructive role regionally as well as globally; (encouraging) the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait through dialogue; (encouraging) China to improve transparency of its military affairs."

This is the first time Japan has publicly endorsed the U.S. position on cross-straits issues. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has threatened to integrate it with the mainland by force if necessary.

"It is seldom, if at all, referred to," a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The shift in policy for Japan, a country that has since World War II avoided taking positions on security issues, apparently comes because it is worried by the growing dominance of China. The Asian giant is now a major economic and military power and has replaced Japan as the top U.S. trading partner.

"We talked about China and our desire for cooperative relations with China," Rice said. "Our desire to ensure that the cross-straits issue is resolved peacefully."

The State Department official downplayed the possibility that focusing on China at a time it is seeking to return North Korea to talks will be counterproductive.

"Relations with China are complicated and multifaceted," he said, noting the United States often raised issues such as the human rights situation in the country while it worked with the Asian giant on other issues, including North Korea.

Ono, the head of Japan's Defense Agency, said the two sides had discussed China's military spending, an incursion late last year of a Chinese submarine into Japanese waters and the Asian giant's maritime research activities.

"We should keep watching China but we should maintain security ties with that country," he said. "That is the posture we should maintain."

Rumsfeld noted Chinese military spending, but said the United States will work with all its partners to ensure the region remained peaceful.

"Our interest is in working with all the countries of the region in seeing that it is peaceful and stable and that the relationships are constructive," he said.

The European Uni on's move to lift an arms embargo on China also came up, official said. Washington is concerned such sales could alter the strategic balance in the region.

"We don't want to see Chinese military buildup fueled by European technology," the official said.

Here are some of the other major issues discussed Saturday:

-- The work of Japan's Self Defense Forces and the U.S. Armed Forces to respond effectively to diverse challenges and ways to enhance interoperability between the two militaries.

-- The realignment of U.S. forces in Japan by maintaining deterrence and capabilities of U.S. forces in Japan while reducing the burden on local communities, including Okinawa.

-- The U.S. ballistic missile defense system, which Japan has signed on to.

-- Work in Afghanistan, Iraq, the broader Middle East and tsunami relief.

-- Successful joint efforts in promoti ng nonproliferation through the Proliferation Security Initiative.

-- Ways to stop international terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

-- Persuading Russia to constructively work in the Asia-Pacific region and on its border dispute with Japan.

-- Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the international community.

-- the Japanese ban on U.S. beef: Japanese officials said they will work to address U.S. concerns on the issue.

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