Missile control talks open in Paris

The US missile shield plan is under fire

More than 70 countries are taking part in negotiations in Paris aimed at curbing the proliferation of ballistic missiles.

Among the arms experts and diplomats at the two-day meeting which opened on Thursday were officials from Iran and Iraq - branded by US President George W Bush as part of an "axis of evil" seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The Paris meeting is part of an attempt to set global ground rules for missiles

Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan are also attending the Paris conference - at a time of tension following a December attack on the Indian parliament which Delhi blames on Pakistan-backed militants.

The five original nuclear powers - the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China - are represented. So is Israel, which is also believed to have nuclear weapons.

The aim is to agree on a code of conduct regulating missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads or other weapons of mass destruction.

The code would make it difficult for countries to buy missiles from exporters such as North Korea - which Mr Bush views as the third member of the "axis of evil". North Korea has not sent delegates to the meeting.

Under the proposed code of conduct, each country would make an annual declaration of its missile policy listing its missile launchers.

Nations would also be encouraged to allow international observers at their launch sites - and to notify other states of planned missile launches and test flights.

Talks 'could last years'

The negotiations, which officials said could last months if not years, were launched by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) - a group of 33 nations including the United States, Russia and the European Union.

The group stresses the importance of monitoring the transfer or upgrading of any missile with a range of more than 300 km (180 miles) or carrying a payload of more than 500 kg.

Delegates said the code would not directly inhibit countries outside the MTCR group.

The attendance of both Pakistan and India is seen as encouraging

But pressure to declare missile stocks and announce tests in advance could help shed light on a secretive part of the world arms trade, they argued.

"This is still at a very early stage," one delegate said, adding that countries that had recently developed missiles were welcome to join the group.

US condemned

Russia and China have criticised the Bush administration for its plan to develop a missile defence system to protect the United States against "rogue states".

The United States has rejected the nuclear test-ban treaty and last year withdrew from efforts to enforce a global ban on biological weapons.

The Washington-based Arms Control Association says 28 states possess ballistic missiles.

North Korea is reported to have supplied Scud-type missiles to Egypt, Iran, Libya, Pakistan and Syria, correspondents say.

India tested a nuclear-capable Agni missile last month.

The attendance of India and Pakistan is seen as a positive sign, correspondents say.