ID :
11014
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 10:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/11014
The shortlink copeid
Japan, U.S. to cooperate in verification of N. Korea declaration
Kyoto, June 28 Kyodo - Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday they agreed to work closely on verifying a declaration of nuclear programs submitted by North Korea and on the issue of global warming prior to the upcoming Group of Eight summit.
Japan and the United States also agreed to work together so that the six
nations working on denuclearizing North Korea can reach an accord on the
principles of the verification and hammer out a road map for the complete
denuclearization of the country, a Japanese official said.
A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official suggested earlier that the
principles should ensure access to nuclear facilities, make sure that North
Korea discloses information in writing at the request of the six-party process
and allow for interviews with people related to the nuclear facilities and
programs.
Rice told a joint press conference with Komura that the United States will keep
pressuring North Korea to resolve the issue of past abductions of Japanese
nationals, a major concern of Japan.
''The United States has pressed very hard to have the DPRK sit down with Japan
and find a way to resolve this and we are going to continue to press this case
at every opportunity,'' Rice said, using the acronym for the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
''The United States retains very much, plenty of leverage to deal with North
Korea going forward,'' Rice said. ''It is extremely important to the United
States...that this issue be resolved.''
Rice made the remarks after Komura asked the United States to do its utmost to
urge North Korea to settle the abduction issue, the first Japanese official
said.
Rice's comments were taken as a bid to allay growing concern in
Japan that the
U.S. move to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism
shows that Japan has lost diplomatic leverage in relation to the abduction issue.
Komura, for his part, said, ''On North Korean problems, Secretary Rice and I
agreed that it is important to make progress on the two issues of
denuclearization and Japan-North Korea relations, including the abduction
problem.''
Komura and Rice also said they agreed to cooperate on the issue of global
warming, which will be a major agenda item at the G-8 summit July 7-9 in Hokkaido.
The two met on the sidelines of a two-day G-8 foreign ministerial meeting that
ended Friday in Kyoto.
The Japan-U.S. foreign ministerial talks came after North Korea presented in
Beijing a declaration of its nuclear activities to China, which chairs the
six-party process also involving Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States.
North Korea delivered the declaration Thursday following an agreement reached
by the six countries in their last round of talks in October, boosting the
momentum among the parties to resume the multinational talks soon.
The U.S. government subsequently started the procedures to remove North Korea
from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, on which it has been listed for 20 years. ==Kyodo
Japan and the United States also agreed to work together so that the six
nations working on denuclearizing North Korea can reach an accord on the
principles of the verification and hammer out a road map for the complete
denuclearization of the country, a Japanese official said.
A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official suggested earlier that the
principles should ensure access to nuclear facilities, make sure that North
Korea discloses information in writing at the request of the six-party process
and allow for interviews with people related to the nuclear facilities and
programs.
Rice told a joint press conference with Komura that the United States will keep
pressuring North Korea to resolve the issue of past abductions of Japanese
nationals, a major concern of Japan.
''The United States has pressed very hard to have the DPRK sit down with Japan
and find a way to resolve this and we are going to continue to press this case
at every opportunity,'' Rice said, using the acronym for the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
''The United States retains very much, plenty of leverage to deal with North
Korea going forward,'' Rice said. ''It is extremely important to the United
States...that this issue be resolved.''
Rice made the remarks after Komura asked the United States to do its utmost to
urge North Korea to settle the abduction issue, the first Japanese official
said.
Rice's comments were taken as a bid to allay growing concern in
Japan that the
U.S. move to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism
shows that Japan has lost diplomatic leverage in relation to the abduction issue.
Komura, for his part, said, ''On North Korean problems, Secretary Rice and I
agreed that it is important to make progress on the two issues of
denuclearization and Japan-North Korea relations, including the abduction
problem.''
Komura and Rice also said they agreed to cooperate on the issue of global
warming, which will be a major agenda item at the G-8 summit July 7-9 in Hokkaido.
The two met on the sidelines of a two-day G-8 foreign ministerial meeting that
ended Friday in Kyoto.
The Japan-U.S. foreign ministerial talks came after North Korea presented in
Beijing a declaration of its nuclear activities to China, which chairs the
six-party process also involving Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States.
North Korea delivered the declaration Thursday following an agreement reached
by the six countries in their last round of talks in October, boosting the
momentum among the parties to resume the multinational talks soon.
The U.S. government subsequently started the procedures to remove North Korea
from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, on which it has been listed for 20 years. ==Kyodo
