Afghanistan, N. Korea to top agenda at G-8 foreign ministers' meeting

Tokyo, June 26 Kyodo - Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight nations are set to confirm their commitments on security and reconstruction in Afghanistan when they meet in Kyoto from Thursday, including issuing a statement on more assistance to the Afghan-Pakistani border area as part of counterterrorism strategy.

But North Korea's denuclearization process is likely to steal the spotlight at
the two-day talks, as Pyongyang is expected to provide a long-overdue account
of its nuclear activities on Thursday and the United States to respond by
taking the North off its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the
United States, and Russia's vice foreign minister are expected to send a ''very
strong message'' on the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues and discuss the
Middle East peace process, as well as regional issues such as Myanmar and
Zimbabwe.

The meeting will be the last of a series of G-8 ministerial talks leading up to
the July 7-9 summit to be held in Hokkaido.

''The G-8 hopes to issue a strong message to urge North Korea to take concrete
steps to abandon all its nuclear weapons and programs,'' Japanese Foreign
Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday. ''We also want to send a strong message
from the international community calling for the early resolution of
humanitarian concerns including abductions.''

Komura plans to ask for understanding and cooperation from his G-8 counterparts
to keep the pressure on the North to come clean on its past abductions of
Japanese nationals, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

In addition, the Japanese minister will hold one-on-one talks with U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday afternoon after the G-8 meeting
concludes. The two are expected to focus discussions on the North Korean issue
and how to proceed with the six-party talks.

''From Japan's viewpoint, if it (the United States) is to delist North Korea as
a state sponsor of terrorism, we hope it will be used sufficiently as a
bargaining chip to push forward the abduction issue,'' Komura said earlier.

''I plan to convey clearly to Secretary Rice that I do not think there has been
any progress on the abduction issue at this stage,'' he added, referring to
Japan's consistent request that North Korea be kept on the U.S. list until it
shows progress in solving the abductions.

On Afghanistan, which has received the greatest attention among the G-8
members, the ministers will issue a joint statement on Thursday to confirm
their commitment to implementing pledges and increasing the effectiveness of
aid, and urge the Afghan government to do more against corruption and drugs.

This includes endorsing over 150 projects currently planned or implemented by
G-8 members to strengthen social economic development in areas along the
Afghan-Pakistani border, known as a hotbed of terrorism, the official said.

Komura may also announce the amount of assistance for the projects, expected to
total between $2 billion and $3 billion.

As for Iran, which along with North Korea will be the major agenda item on
Friday, the G-8 ministers will commit anew to the dual track approach of
pressure and dialogue, and call on Iran to respond positively to international
calls to terminate its uranium enrichment activities.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Komura will hold bilateral talks respectively
with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Canadian Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Minister David Emerson, and Italian Foreign Minister Franco
Frattini on Thursday.

However, no separate talks have been scheduled between Komura and his French
and German counterparts, Bernard Kouchner and Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Russian First Vice Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov will attend the ministerial
meeting on behalf of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The European Union will be represented at the G-8 talks by Slovenian Foreign
Minister Dimitrij Rupel, EU Council Director General for External and
Politico-Military Affairs Robert Cooper, and EU Commissioner for External
Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Immediately following the G-8 foreign ministerial meeting, Japan will also host
a trilateral strategic dialogue with the United States and Australia on Friday
evening. Komura is also slated to meet Australian Foreign Minister Stephen
Smith separately on Friday.

The foreign ministerial talks will be the last of a series of eight meetings
that also involved development, labor, environment, energy, justice, finance,
and science and technology ministers ahead of the July summit at the Lake Toya
resort in Hokkaido.==Kyodo