ID :
192117
Thu, 06/30/2011 - 17:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/192117
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Japan, S. Korea vice foreign ministers seek inter-Korean dialogue
TOKYO (Kyodo) - Vice foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea agreed Thursday to seek an inter-Korean dialogue on denuclearizing North Korea and to cooperate on the reconstruction of areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese officials said.
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae and South Korea's first vice foreign minister Park Suk Hwan held a strategic dialogue in Tokyo and reaffirmed that inter-Korean talks should precede the resumption of the six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, which have been stalled since December 2008, they said.
The two sought ''concrete steps'' by the North toward abandoning its nuclear programs and agreed that Japan, South Korea and the United States will continue to work closely together in dealing with Pyongyang, the officials said.
The six-way dialogue involves the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Sasae thanked Park for South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's visit to the disaster-hit areas in northeastern Japan in May, while Park offered condolences for the victims of the March calamity.
Sasae supported South Korea's position of not seeking an apology from the North for two deadly attacks on the South last year as a precondition for the inter-Korean dialogue.
He also confirmed with Park that talks between the two Koreas should be followed by other bilateral meetings among the six parties and the resumption of the multilateral talks.
Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated since the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island last November and its earlier sinking of a South Korean warship.
Sasae also urged Park to ensure that Seoul does not repeat the demonstration flight earlier this month by a Korean Air aircraft over disputed islets in the Sea of Japan, which Japan claimed was a violation of its airspace, according to the officials.
An Airbus A380 passenger jet operated by Korean Air entered airspace over the South Korean-controlled islets known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea on June 16.
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae and South Korea's first vice foreign minister Park Suk Hwan held a strategic dialogue in Tokyo and reaffirmed that inter-Korean talks should precede the resumption of the six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, which have been stalled since December 2008, they said.
The two sought ''concrete steps'' by the North toward abandoning its nuclear programs and agreed that Japan, South Korea and the United States will continue to work closely together in dealing with Pyongyang, the officials said.
The six-way dialogue involves the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Sasae thanked Park for South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's visit to the disaster-hit areas in northeastern Japan in May, while Park offered condolences for the victims of the March calamity.
Sasae supported South Korea's position of not seeking an apology from the North for two deadly attacks on the South last year as a precondition for the inter-Korean dialogue.
He also confirmed with Park that talks between the two Koreas should be followed by other bilateral meetings among the six parties and the resumption of the multilateral talks.
Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated since the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island last November and its earlier sinking of a South Korean warship.
Sasae also urged Park to ensure that Seoul does not repeat the demonstration flight earlier this month by a Korean Air aircraft over disputed islets in the Sea of Japan, which Japan claimed was a violation of its airspace, according to the officials.
An Airbus A380 passenger jet operated by Korean Air entered airspace over the South Korean-controlled islets known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea on June 16.
