Nakasone to push N. Korean issues at G-8 foreign ministerial meeting

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TOKYO, June 22 Kyodo -
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone will attend a meeting this week of foreign
ministers of the Group of Eight countries in Trieste, Italy, to push North
Korean nuclear and missile issues as well as disarmament and piracy, Foreign
Ministry officials said Monday.
During the three-day meeting from Thursday, Nakasone plans to make clear
Tokyo's stance on the issues and seek understanding from his counterparts about
them, Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka said during a news conference.
Japan hopes to work with other countries in enforcing sanctions against North
Korea in accordance with a new U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at
punishing Pyongyang for its recent missile and nuclear activities.
The foreign minister plans to assert that Japan would not tolerate North
Korea's development of nuclear weapons and launching of ballistic missiles, the
officials said.
Nakasone also hopes to see a chair's statement to be issued at the G-8 meeting
include support for Japan's long-running efforts to have the issue of Japanese
people abducted by North Korea resolved, they said.
Echoing the vision of a nuclear-free world advocated by U.S. President Barack
Obama, Nakasone is also expected to stress the need to work on reducing nuclear
weapons stockpiles in the world.
In connection with the rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia, the minister
plans to confirm with his counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Russia and the United States the need to work on upgrading the maritime
policing functions of Horn of Africa countries and to cooperate with one
another on exchanging piracy information, they said.
On Friday, Nakasone will also attend an outreach session to discuss ways to
stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is expected to highlight Japan's
involvement in such efforts, including the hosting of a donors' conference in
Tokyo in April, they added.
On the sidelines, Nakasone is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with the
foreign ministers of several countries, including U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.
Before heading to Trieste for the G-8 meeting, Nakasone will attend a
ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development in Paris on Thursday, according to the ministry.
==Kyodo