TEHRAN -- Japanese Foreign Minister Yuriko Kawaguchi stated in an interview on Friday with the Japanese daily Mainichi that through the use of chemical weapons Iraqi forces caused some 30,000 Iranian casualties during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War.

She added that the Iraqis possess nearly 2,400 kilos of VX nerve gas, which is enough to kill 200 million people, and that the nerve gas is still unaccounted for.

Iraq is also accused of possessing 6,500 missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads, she said.

The Japanese minister warned that there would be terrible consequences if these weapons were to fall into the hands of terrorists or countries that are seeking weapons of mass destruction. She noted that the international community has reached a general consensus in regard to the necessity of disarming Iraq and has been pressuring Iraq to disarm for the past 12 years, adding that the pressure has recently been intensified.

Kawaguchi pointed out that if Iraq does not take the initiative to disarm itself, the whole disarmament effort would be to no avail due to the size of the country.

She noted that if the inspection team continues its work at its current pace, gaining a good result seems way out of reach.

In conclusion she said that if the international community does not take a serious stand about Iraq's efforts to produce weapons of mass destruction, other countries and terrorist groups would feel free to produce weapons of mass destruction.