Australia, Japan, US to talk security at APEC, foreign minister says

ADELAIDE (AP) - Leaders from the United States, Japan and Australia may hold their first three-way security talks on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Australia's top diplomat said Friday.

"That's something that is being considered," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters in South Australia state. "It is a possibility that _ not of course actually a part of APEC, but in the margins of APEC _ there could be trilateral meetings."

Citing unidentified contacts in the government, Japan's mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported Friday that the meeting would take place on Sept. 8 on the sidelines of the APEC leaders' meeting in Sydney, Australia.

The newspaper said U.S. President George W. Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australia's Prime Minister John Howard would discuss North Korea's nuclear disarmament and China's military buildup.

Japan's foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the report.

The United States, Japan and Australia all have bilateral security agreements, but leaders from the three countries have never met for trilateral security talks.

Japan and the United States have been stepping up joint missile defense programs since North Korea's missile launches and nuclear tests last year. Australia has not ruled out participating in the missile shield.

The three allies have also expressed concern about what they describe as a lack of transparency in China's recent military expansion.