S. Korea not opposed to trilateral talks that exclude Seoul: ministry

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government dismissed worries Monday
that the country may be left out of discussions on regional issues if the United
States, Japan, and China press ahead with an envisioned trilateral policy
coordination meeting.

The three global powers plan to hold their first three-way policy dialogue in
Washington next month to discuss issues of common interest. No date has been
announced yet.
The director-general-level framework is being arranged at a sensitive time as
regional tensions heightened following North Korea's second nuclear test on May
25 and its threats of additional provocative actions, including uranium
enrichment as part of its drive to produce nuclear weapons.
Rep. Song Min-soon, who served as Seoul's top nuclear envoy and foreign minister
under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, expressed deep concerns about not
being included in the trilateral talks.
He said it shows South Korea's dwindling role and status on regional affairs
under the current Lee Myung-bak government.
"The United States has a plan to consult on Asian issues in the trilateral
channel with Japan and China, putting policy coordination with South Korea and
Japan in a subordinate structure," the lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic
Party claimed in a statement.
In the end, South Korea will participate in discussions only after the U.S.,
China and Japan set the direction for the North Korean nuclear program and other
regional issues, he said.
Song has been an advocate of South Korea assuming a "balancer role" in Northeast
Asia, interpreted by many as leading to a lessening influence in the region by
Washington.
South Korea's foreign ministry dismissed Song's claim as groundless.
"Even if the U.S.-China-Japan consultation meeting is held, it will touch on
global issues such as energy and climate change, not those of the Korean
Peninsula," ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said. "I don't think there will be
any problems."
Furthermore, South Korea is in close consultations with the three nations, he added.
Another ministry official said on condition of anonymity that South Korea will
monitor agenda items in the planned meeting.
"Judging from the names of representatives to the trilateral meeting that we
acquired through our local embassies, it is likely to focus on long-term policy
coordination on broader global issues rather than the North Korean nuclear
issue," he said. "We have no justification to oppose such a meeting, as we have a
trilateral consultation channel with the U.S. and Japan."
The U.S. is expected to be represented by Anne-Marie Slaughter, the State
Department's policy planning director, while Koro Bessho, director general of the
foreign ministry's foreign policy bureau, will represent Japan. Their Chinese
counterpart will likely be a foreign ministry official of similar position.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)