ID :
47183
Tue, 02/24/2009 - 04:15
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/47183
The shortlink copeid
Aso, Lee reaffirm need to work closely with Obama+
TOKYO, Feb. 23 Kyodo - The leaders of Japan and South Korea reaffirmed on Monday the need for the two countries to work closely with the United States in addressing the global economic turmoil, the North Korean nuclear problem and various other issues facing the international community, the top Japanese government spokesman said.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak made
the agreement in telephone talks held hours before Aso's planned visit to the
United States for a summit meeting with President Barack Obama, according to
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura.
However, Aso and Lee made no reference to the long-standing bilateral
territorial row over a set of islets in the Sea of Japan called Takeshima in
Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, Kawamura said.
The two leaders also did not discuss the matter when they met face to face in
Seoul last month.
But Kawamura said he hopes the issue will be examined carefully by a joint
project team, which was launched Monday, involving researchers from both Japan
and South Korea.
''The issue could be a thorn to the countries,'' he said. ''I hope that it (the
joint project team) will engage in serious discussions on the issue.'' The
establishment of such a project was proposed during the summit meeting in
Seoul.
The joint project team led by Masao Okonogi, a professor at Tokyo's Keio
University, and Ha Young Sun, a professor at Seoul National University, will
proceed with collaborative research concerning international politics, the
global economy as well as present and future bilateral relations in a
one-and-half-a-year period.
In Monday's phone talks, the two sides did not discuss any details on a
possible meeting between Kim Hyon Hui, who is a former North Korean agent now
living in South Korea, and family members of Yaeko Taguchi, a Japanese woman
who was abducted by the North, Kawamura said.
Earlier this month, South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung
Hwan said a meeting between Kim and Taguchi's family will soon be realized. Yu
made the comments at a press conference that followed his talks in Seoul on
Feb. 11 with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
Kim Hyon Hui, convicted of the 1987 fatal bombing of a South Korean airliner
but later freed under a presidential pardon, is believed to have been taught
Japanese by Taguchi.
Kawamura said the Japanese government has not been informed yet of exactly
where and when the two sides would meet.
In their conversation, Lee told Aso he would like to visit Japan at an early
date, while Aso said he is looking forward to seeing Lee in Japan, according to
Kawamura.
To set the foundation for the so-called ''shuttle diplomacy,'' the two leaders
agreed in their talks last month that Lee would visit Japan this year ''when
the timing is right.''
Aso also told Lee that his Cabinet would endorse Japan's participation in the
2012 expo to be held in the South Korean southern city of Yeosu, while the
South Korean president expressed his gratitude, according to Kawamura.
==Kyodo
2009-02-23 22:31:46
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak made
the agreement in telephone talks held hours before Aso's planned visit to the
United States for a summit meeting with President Barack Obama, according to
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura.
However, Aso and Lee made no reference to the long-standing bilateral
territorial row over a set of islets in the Sea of Japan called Takeshima in
Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, Kawamura said.
The two leaders also did not discuss the matter when they met face to face in
Seoul last month.
But Kawamura said he hopes the issue will be examined carefully by a joint
project team, which was launched Monday, involving researchers from both Japan
and South Korea.
''The issue could be a thorn to the countries,'' he said. ''I hope that it (the
joint project team) will engage in serious discussions on the issue.'' The
establishment of such a project was proposed during the summit meeting in
Seoul.
The joint project team led by Masao Okonogi, a professor at Tokyo's Keio
University, and Ha Young Sun, a professor at Seoul National University, will
proceed with collaborative research concerning international politics, the
global economy as well as present and future bilateral relations in a
one-and-half-a-year period.
In Monday's phone talks, the two sides did not discuss any details on a
possible meeting between Kim Hyon Hui, who is a former North Korean agent now
living in South Korea, and family members of Yaeko Taguchi, a Japanese woman
who was abducted by the North, Kawamura said.
Earlier this month, South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung
Hwan said a meeting between Kim and Taguchi's family will soon be realized. Yu
made the comments at a press conference that followed his talks in Seoul on
Feb. 11 with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
Kim Hyon Hui, convicted of the 1987 fatal bombing of a South Korean airliner
but later freed under a presidential pardon, is believed to have been taught
Japanese by Taguchi.
Kawamura said the Japanese government has not been informed yet of exactly
where and when the two sides would meet.
In their conversation, Lee told Aso he would like to visit Japan at an early
date, while Aso said he is looking forward to seeing Lee in Japan, according to
Kawamura.
To set the foundation for the so-called ''shuttle diplomacy,'' the two leaders
agreed in their talks last month that Lee would visit Japan this year ''when
the timing is right.''
Aso also told Lee that his Cabinet would endorse Japan's participation in the
2012 expo to be held in the South Korean southern city of Yeosu, while the
South Korean president expressed his gratitude, according to Kawamura.
==Kyodo
2009-02-23 22:31:46
