Aso, Lee to cooperate in economic crisis, work with Obama on N. Korea

SEOUL, Jan. 12 Kyodo - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
agreed Monday to work closely to tackle the global financial turmoil and
cooperate with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to contain North Korea's
nuclear ambitions, while leaving aside their historical and territorial rows.
To set the foundation for the so-called ''shuttle diplomacy,'' the two leaders
also agreed that Lee would visit Japan this year ''when the timing is right,''
Aso told a joint press conference after their summit talks held at the
presidential Blue House in Seoul.
''The leaders of Japan and South Korea have never met so frequently and
deepened cooperation on such a wide range of areas,'' Aso said.
On North Korea's nuclear development program, Aso and Lee agreed to cooperate
closely with Obama, who is set to take office on Jan. 20, on ending the
standoff, and confirmed that their basic stance is to have Pyongyang dismantle
its nuclear program.
Aso told Lee during their talks that North Korea might move to split the
trilateral security framework of Japan, South Korea and the United States, and
that the three countries need to tie up closely, according to a Japanese
government official.
Lee also said at the press conference, ''We agreed to make mutual efforts with
patience toward the denuclearization of North Korea.''
Seeking Seoul's support for Japan's efforts to resolve the past abductions of
Japanese nationals by North Korea, Aso said to Lee, ''The act breaches human
rights, and the issue must be settled quickly,'' according to the official.
The official quoted Lee as replying, ''There are also abduction victims (of
North Korea) in our country and we will cooperate toward a resolution.''
Concerning differences in perceptions of history, ''There were no discussions
during our talks,'' Aso told the press conference.
According to the Japanese government official, the two leaders made no
reference either to the territorial dispute over a set of islets in the Sea of
Japan called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.
A South Korean government official said, ''We believe that South Korea-Japan
relations have recently made a step forward and have become able to engage in
more candid discussions than before. When the ties are improving and expanding,
they (historical and islets-related issues) are not something that should be
put back on the table.''
On the economic front, Aso and Lee agreed on the need to check any moves toward
protectionism and counter the global financial crunch that has dealt a blow to
their countries, reaffirming their agreement made at a trilateral summit in
Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture along with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in
mid-December.
Lee also said a Japanese delegation of investors and buyers will visit South
Korea in April as part of efforts to further strengthen business ties, but did
not elaborate on specific purposes or schedules.
Aso and Lee also agreed to accelerate talks toward the resumption of
negotiations for a bilateral economic partnership agreement which have been
stalled since 2004 largely due to opposition from South Korean business
circles.
But the two failed to present a concrete path toward concluding a pact which
centers on liberalization of trade.
In what they touted as a ''new era'' in bilateral relations, Aso and Lee agreed
to jointly contribute to the international community.
Specifically, they plan to help reconstruct conflict-ravaged Afghanistan in
such fields as human resource development and farming. ''It would be the first
international contribution to be conducted on site collaboratively between
Japan and South Korea,'' another government official said.
They also agreed to launch a joint project to study a range of political and
economic problems facing the international community. One representative will
be chosen from each country, and the two will meet later this month to decide
what specific areas to discuss, according to the official.
Citing Monday's official agreement to launch a South Korean multipurpose
satellite on a Japanese H-2A rocket, Aso was quoted by the official as saying,
''I welcomed the progress in two-way cooperation in the space field.''
The two leaders also agreed to hold as early as this summer a forum bringing
together leaders from small to midsize businesses.
The summit was the second round of the shuttle diplomacy following Lee's visit
to Tokyo last April, but marks the first visit by a Japanese leader to South
Korea since the two countries agreed last February to resume reciprocal visits.
For Aso, however, it was the fifth time since taking office last September that
he has met Lee, either bilaterally or at international meetings.
On Sunday, the first day of his two-day stay in South Korea, Aso and Lee
exchanged opinions with business leaders from both countries and agreed on the
need to boost bilateral cooperation to cope with the financial crisis.
Shuttle diplomacy between Japan and South Korea came to a halt in 2005 when
relations became strained by then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where Japan's war dead including
Class-A war criminals are enshrined. South Korea and other Asian countries view
the shrine as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression.
But their relations improved during the administrations of Koizumi's successors
Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda. Lee agreed Feb. 25 to resume the reciprocal visits
and build a ''new era'' when Fukuda visited Seoul to attend Lee's inauguration
ceremony.
==Kyodo