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183543
Sun, 05/22/2011 - 04:48
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https://oananews.org//node/183543
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Lee holds summit with Japanese, Chinese leaders
By Chang Jae-soon
TOKYO (Yonhap) - Leaders of South Korea, Japan and China began an annual cooperation summit Sunday expected to focus on how to work together in enhancing nuclear safety and handling disasters, as host Japan is still reeling from the aftermath of March's massive earthquake and tsunami.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao went to Tokyo after making a solidarity trip to Fukushima, home to the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that is still spewing radiation. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan traveled together with them.
Lee not only comforted displaced residents, but also tasted, before a barrage of camera flashes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables and fruits produced in the region in a symbolic gesture underlining Seoul's support for the disaster-stricken neighboring nation.
The tasting was meant to show that food from the region is safe to consume.
Officials said the trilateral summit focused on nuclear safety and disaster management, and the three nations were to issue a joint leaders' declaration calling for closer cooperation on the issues.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the possibility of forging a three-way free trade agreement, as well as how to operate a joint secretariat to be established in Seoul later this year to handle cooperation projects among the countries, the officials said.
Lee plans to later meet separately with the Japanese and Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the three-way summit.
The main topics of Lee's meeting with the Japanese prime minister are expected to include Japan's agreement to return ancient Korean royal books, disaster management and humanitarian assistance to Japan, Seoul officials said.
The meeting with the Chinese premier is expected to include discussions on the possibility of launching bilateral free trade talks and ways to commemorate the 20th anniversary next year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, they said.
North Korea is also expected to be high on the agenda for Lee's talks with Wen, as the meeting will come after the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, is making a trip to China, his third in a little more than a year.
South Korea has also been waiting for Pyongyang's official response to Lee's offer to invite the North's leader to an international security summit in Seoul next year if Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament.
South Korea, Japan and China have alternately hosted three-way summits annually since 2008. Their combined gross national products account for nearly 20 percent of the world's total gross domestic products, and their combined population represents 22.3 percent of the world's population.
TOKYO (Yonhap) - Leaders of South Korea, Japan and China began an annual cooperation summit Sunday expected to focus on how to work together in enhancing nuclear safety and handling disasters, as host Japan is still reeling from the aftermath of March's massive earthquake and tsunami.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao went to Tokyo after making a solidarity trip to Fukushima, home to the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that is still spewing radiation. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan traveled together with them.
Lee not only comforted displaced residents, but also tasted, before a barrage of camera flashes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables and fruits produced in the region in a symbolic gesture underlining Seoul's support for the disaster-stricken neighboring nation.
The tasting was meant to show that food from the region is safe to consume.
Officials said the trilateral summit focused on nuclear safety and disaster management, and the three nations were to issue a joint leaders' declaration calling for closer cooperation on the issues.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the possibility of forging a three-way free trade agreement, as well as how to operate a joint secretariat to be established in Seoul later this year to handle cooperation projects among the countries, the officials said.
Lee plans to later meet separately with the Japanese and Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the three-way summit.
The main topics of Lee's meeting with the Japanese prime minister are expected to include Japan's agreement to return ancient Korean royal books, disaster management and humanitarian assistance to Japan, Seoul officials said.
The meeting with the Chinese premier is expected to include discussions on the possibility of launching bilateral free trade talks and ways to commemorate the 20th anniversary next year of diplomatic relations between the two countries, they said.
North Korea is also expected to be high on the agenda for Lee's talks with Wen, as the meeting will come after the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, is making a trip to China, his third in a little more than a year.
South Korea has also been waiting for Pyongyang's official response to Lee's offer to invite the North's leader to an international security summit in Seoul next year if Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament.
South Korea, Japan and China have alternately hosted three-way summits annually since 2008. Their combined gross national products account for nearly 20 percent of the world's total gross domestic products, and their combined population represents 22.3 percent of the world's population.
