* North Korea offers to end nuclear, missile testing

* Trump goes ahead with tariffs, exempts Canada and Mexico

* Other exemptions could come but perhaps with conditions

* Asia shares ex-Japan flat, Nikkei futures trade firmer

* Euro dips as ECB cautious on policy, yen eases before BOJ

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets made guarded gains on Friday on news North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had offered to stop nuclear and missile testing and to arrange a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

South Korea's national security adviser made the announcement at the White House, after delivering a letter from Kim to Trump.

The chance of an easing in geopolitical tensions in the region helped Japan's Nikkei climb 1.3 percent, while South Korean stocks added 0.9 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.15 percent, while Australia firmed 0.3 percent.

The mood had already brightened a little after Trump pressed ahead with tariffs but offered conditional exemptions for Canada and Mexico, offering at least the hope a full-blown trade war could be averted.

The White House said other countries could apply for exemptions on the 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent for aluminium, but details were sparse on when they might be granted and under what terms. Several major trading partners have said they will respond with tariffs or direct action of their own. "Markets have cheered up a little but exclusions are likely to come with caveats demanding reciprocity - that's the kind of guy the President is," said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at broker AxiTrader.

"Fears have been eased in the immediate term, but it's clear that China, and to a lesser extent the EU, is about to come in for greater scrutiny."

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.1 percent, after Wall Street got a late lift from the tariff news. The Dow ended Thursday with a gain of 0.38 percent, while the S&P 500 added 0.45 percent and the Nasdaq 0.42 percent.

The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso inched higher, though both countries remain locked in tough negotiations with the United States over NAFTA.

Rising protectionism was a risk cited overnight by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi following the central bank's latest policy meeting.

While the ECB did drop its easing bias as some expected, Draghi sounded in no rush to start unwinding stimulus.

BOJ ON THE BLOCKS

The dovish tone was enough to see the euro fade back to $1.2305, having shed 0.8 percent on Thursday. That helped the U.S. dollar gain 0.5 percent on a basket of currencies to stand at 90.129.