An Aegis-equipped battle ship docked on South Korea's west coast as six radar-evading Stealth fighters took up positions south of Seoul and an aircraft carrier steamed towards the southern port of Busan, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

And as a massive military buildup continued in the Middle East ahead of possible war against Iraq, top U.S. commanders said they stood ready to handle any military moves by North Korea.

On Thursday, March 13, Admiral Thomas Fargo, head of U.S. forces in the Pacific and General Leon LaPorte, the commander of allied ground forces in Korea, told senators in Washington they had sufficient assets in the region to deter any North Korean attack.

The resumption of U.S. airborne surveillance off North Korea was also announced, less than two weeks after a squad of North Korean fighters intercepted an American RC-135S plane over the Sea of Japan.

"I am better positioned today in the western Pacific than I was a year ago," said Fargo, noting that additional troops and aircraft were flowing into South Korea as part of an annual exercise.

President George W. Bush and his South Korean counterpart Roh Moo-Hyun, speaking Thursday for the first time since the 56-year-old former human rights lawyer took office last month, pledged in a telephone conversation to seek a peaceful solution.

Both leaders "exchanged views on the North Korea nuclear issue and reaffirmed their intention to continue working closely with other countries in the region for a peaceful solution through diplomacy," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

However, once again Washington rejected to engage in dialogue with the North on a one-to-one basis.

Secretary of State Colin Powell stood firm on the U.S. insistence that the crisis could only be eased through multilateral talks among the United States, North Korea and regional powers.

U.S. forces in the region were boosted by the arrival of six U.S. F-117 Stealth fighter jets at Kunsan air base south of Seoul and the dispatch of an aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson.

The Aegis-equipped battle ship USS Vincennes docked at a South Korean naval base in Incheon, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Seoul.

The ship and planes are part of massive military exercises involving U.S. and South Korea troops taking place through the month of March.

North Korea says the annual war games by hundreds of thousands of troops are a preparation for an invasion of the Stalinist state.

Washington has said it has no "intention" of attacking North Korea, but maintains that it is keeping all options open in dealing with the crisis.

South Korea's President Roh said this week that the nation's economy would be reduced to "ashes" in a moment should war break out.

The deployment of the Stealth jet fighters follows the recent arrival of 24 long-range bombers on the Pacific island of Guam.

Reports in Tokyo meanwhile warned that the Stalinist state may be ready to escalate the crisis another notch by test-firing a ballistic missile able to reach Japan.

Pyongyang has twice in the last two months launched short-range anti-ship missiles into the Sea of Japan.

According to media reports Japan was poised to field Patriot missile batteries to counter the threat.

Tensions have been building since the United States in October accused North Korea of launching a drive to produce nuclear weapons from enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 accord, a step North Korea took after a U.S. fuel cut move.

Nuclear Crisis Will Not Be Prolonged: Minister

Meanwhile, South Korea's new finance minister said Friday that the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula would not be "prolonged" and urged foreign investors to stay in the country.

Finance and Economy Minister Kim Jin-Pyo acknowledged the economy was slowing in part due to North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

"Internally, the Korean economy is experiencing a downward trend in consumption, in trade deficit and volatile financial markets," he said at a Foreign Correspondents' Club luncheon.

Foreign investors should shrug off jitters and look forward to big returns from Asia's fourth largest economy, he advised.

"I feel it is my duty to let the foreign investors and foreign businesses know that the situation with North Korea will not be prolonged and that if you could participate in South Korea's economy now you will benefit from joint prosperity down the road," he said.

Kim said there was a misconception among investors abroad about the gravity of the five-month-old crisis which was not shared by the government or the people of South Korea.

"Compared to the people living outside Korea, we know accurately what the situation is," he said.

The U.S. government, which maintains that it is keeping all its options open in responding to North Korea, knew better than to launch a war against the Stalinist state, he said.