S. Korea, Japan reaffirm support for inter-Korean dialogue ahead of nuclear talks

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with results of meeting, quote, details, ADDS lawmakers' planned visit to Dokdo; CHANGES headline)
SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- The nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan reaffirmed Monday their joint stance that an improvement in inter-Korean relations is a precondition to moving toward returning to multinational talks on North Korea's nuclear program, officials said.
South Korean nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac met with his Japanese counterpart, Shinsuke Sugiyama, in Seoul, and they "reaffirmed their position that inter-Korean dialogue should be prioritized before the two sides can consider resuming talks with North Korea," Seoul's Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.
Multilateral negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since late 2008. The talks group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
South Korea, the U.S. and other regional powers are pushing to reopen the six-party talks in a three-step approach in which North Korea will meet with South Korea first and then the U.S. for one-on-one talks on denuclearization before resuming the multilateral process.
Sugiyama arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day visit, ahead of the annual ASEAN Regional Forum in Indonesia this week, but his trip was burdened by the latest diplomatic spat over Seoul's easternmost islets of Dokdo.
The latest spat erupted last week as Japan instructed its diplomats to not fly with Korean Air for one month in protest over the airline's flight last month above the Dokdo islets.
South Korea demanded Japan immediately withdraw the ban, expressing "strong regret and disappointment." However, Japan showed no signs of reversing the ban that took effect from Monday.
"Given the current circumstance, the likelihood of a withdrawal by Japan's foreign ministry is low," said a senior official at Seoul's foreign ministry.
Apparently mindful of the rising criticism in South Korea, Sugiyama kept his visit low key. Unlike his previous visit in May, he didn't meet the South Korean media after the meeting with Wi.
The statement released by Seoul's foreign ministry had no mention of Dokdo. South Korean officials said they were ready to take "various countermeasures" unless Japan reverses the ban.
Meanwhile, a group of South Korean lawmakers plan to visit Dokdo next month and hold a parliamentary meeting on the islets for the first time, said Rep. Kang Chang-il of the main opposition Democratic Party.
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a thorn in relations between the two countries. South Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
South Korea rejects Japan's claims of sovereignty over Dokdo as nonsense because the country regained independence from Japan's 36-year colonial rule in 1945 and reclaimed sovereignty over its territory, including Dokdo and many other islands around the Korean Peninsula.