Top military chiefs from Malaysia, Singapore, Britain, Australia and New Zealand yesterday expressed concern over the security threat posed by North Korea's nuclear capacity.

"We are concerned about what is happening o­n the (Korean) peninsula. Their (the North's) nuclear capacity is the concern of everybody," General Mohamad Zahidi Zainuddin, Malaysia's chief of defence forces told reporters.

Mohamad Zahidi said the countries involved make up the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), a 32-year-old group which acts as the bulwark for the defence of Singapore and Malaysia from external threats.

The o­ne-day biennial talks focused o­n the security situation o­n the Korean peninsula, the setting up of an anti-terrorism centre in Malaysia and effective ways to exchange intelligence and in passing the "invisible" enemy Sars, he said.

North Korea has ratcheted up tensions, expelling international nuclear inspectors, testing missiles and announcing its withdrawal in January from the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

North Korea has asserted that its very existence is threatened by US plans to launch nuclear war against the isolated and impoverished country, branded by US President George W Bush as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq.

Military exercise

Mohamad Zahidi said Malaysia and Singapore would host a three-week long military exercise in South China Sea.

"All five countries will contribute their military assets. It will be o­ne of the largest exercise ever held," he said.

The conference was attended by Vice Admiral R E Shalders, vice chief of the Australian Defence Force; Air Marshall Bruce Ferguson, chief of New Zealand's defence force; Major General Ng Yat Chung, Singapore's defence chief; and Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, fleett commander-in-chief of the United Kingdom.

New Zealand's Ferguson said the defense arrangement was relevant and an important organisation.

"From our perspective the defense arrangement is very, very important. It is o­ne of the cornerstones of our defence policy. Southeast Asia's security and New Zealand's are interdependent," he said.

Ferguson identified terrorism as a security threat that had to be battled together. "It has greater dominance since the September 11 incident."

He said other threats included illegal immigrants, drugs and money laundering. - AFP