(Adds Hill comments on arrival in Manila)

By Manny Mogato

MANILA, May 24 (Reuters) - Washington has urged Asian countries to call for denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula while North Korean officials defended Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons, at meetings this week in Manila.

The United States was pushing the 26-member ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) to take a tough stance on non-proliferation when Asia's largest security bloc meets in August in the Philippine capital, Southeast Asian diplomats said on Thursday.

"They are now negotiating the text of a separate statement that would be issued on Aug. 2 during the ARF ministerial meeting in Manila," said Medardo Abad, an official at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat.

But in preparatory meetings for the summit, North Korean officials defended their attempts to build an arsenal of nuclear weapons and described the United States, South Korea and Japan as "an alliance of war".

"The DPRK had no other option but to possess nukes," said a Southeast Asian defence official, paraphrasing Pyongyang's defence paper distributed to ARF members, the first time North Korea gave a security outlook since joining the forum in 2000.

The defence official said diplomats were not surprised by North Korea's defence of its nuclear policy and stinging rebuke of the United States and its allies.

Hopes for a breakthrough on North Korea's nuclear programme have waned after Pyongyang missed an April deadline to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear complex, insisting it first receive $25 million from once-frozen accounts.

Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator in talks over North Korea, flew into Manila on Thursday night to meet with ARF diplomats and repeated that he would not be meeting with North Korean officials.

"I do not see the ARF dealing with the 6-party talks," Hill told reporters at Manila airport, adding that Pyongyang should move to shut down its reactor.

"I think it's time for the North Koreans to get on with their part of the bargain."

The ARF is an Asia-Pacific security grouping that brings together the world's major powers, including the United States, China, Russia and the European Union.

The bloc is trying to overcome criticisms it is just a talking shop with moves to establish a quick reaction group to respond to conflicts and political crises in the region.

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