Iraq insisted the rockets were old, hadn't been used and had been declared already.Chief inspector Hans Blix, in Paris for a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac today, said he could not yet confirm that Iraq had declared those rockets, but that there were no chemical weapons in them."I think what I need now is to get some extra information from my inspectors in Iraq I think we were lucky. We found this by investigating a bunker and found these warheads."There are no chemical weapons inside them. However, clearly they were designed to carry chemical weapons. So I think we should destroy them."I'm still not sure whether it was listed in the 12,000–page report. I'm still waiting for information from New York on that," Mr Blix saidAt a news conference with Presidnet Chirac, Mr Blix said the United Nations needed "more accurate cooperation" from Iraq "for their sake and for the sake of peace."President Chirac supported them despite growing American impatience "It is only wise to agree to this request. Give them more time to work to bring about a more detailed response.".

South Korea said it was prepared for war if diplomacy failed over the North's nuclear weapons ambitions. Lee Jun, the Defence Minister, told parliament: "If the North Korean nuclear problem cannot be solved peacefully and America attacks North Korea, war on the Korean peninsula will be unavoidable. Our army is prepared for the worst-case scenario." South Korea said it was prepared for war if diplomacy failed over the North's nuclear weapons ambitions. There was no quick-fix solution to securing a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, Mr Kelly added. He is on trip through east Asia to rally support for America's handling of the stand-off.Mr Kelly had just learnt that North Korea had rebuffed signals that America would consider supplying aid to the state if it abandoned its nuclear programme. The foreign ministry statement said: "The US loud-mouthed supply of energy and food aid are like a painted cake-pie in the sky, as they are possible only after the DPRK is totally disarmed."Ari Fleischer, a White House spokesman, dismissed the statement as unhelpful bluster, and the comments unfortunate. "We still have not received any official word from North Korea," he told reporters.

North Korea has shown no sign so far of drawing back from the confrontation in which it has thrown out United Nations nuclear inspectors, moved to restart atomic plants that can make weapons-grade plutonium and withdrawn from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.This is despite a perceptible softening in Washington's stance, a reflection of the American view that diplomacy offers the only solution, and also its eagerness to maintain its focus on Iraq. The ground switched to London this week, where British, American and French officials met to discuss solutions.For all Pyongyang's tough rhetoric, the signs are that North Korea also wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically, so long as it can secure aid and assurances on its security.. He may have had in mind such phrases as coals to Newcastle or sand to the Arabs. The artist Antony Gormley is to create a massive terracotta army – a force bigger than even the ancient warriors of Xian – and take it to China. It will follow other versions made in Brazil, Mexico and Sweden, but will be three times larger than any of its predecessors.Asian Field will involve the manufacture of 120,000 hand-sized clay figures by 300 villagers near Guangzhou in China for a work that will then tour the Asian country from March until December.Gormley, a Turner prize-winner, said: "Field is part of a global project in which the earth of a particular region is given form by a group of local people of all ages."The work is part of a raft of arts projects for countries from Iran to Russia announced by the British Council yesterday under the headline "Art for a dangerous world".