Aso, Lee agree to consider 5-party talks over N. Korea issues+

TOKYO, June 28 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak on
Sunday agreed to consider the idea of holding five-party talks without North
Korea to break the impasse in negotiations on denuclearizing the North and to
step up cooperation in implementing a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at
punishing Pyongyang.

In their eighth meeting as national leaders, Aso and Lee also agreed to hold
upgraded working-level talks Wednesday between senior officials of the two
countries toward a possible resumption of stalled negotiations on an economic
partnership agreement and to promote bilateral cooperation in the international
arena.
The South Korean president also expressed his intention to ''actively support''
the Japanese capital's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games during his talks with
Aso, according to a press secretary to Lee.
Lee's one-day visit to Tokyo, part of the so-called ''shuttle diplomacy''
between the two countries involving reciprocal visits by leaders, comes amid
speculation that North Korea could be preparing to launch a long- or
medium-range ballistic missile.
At a joint press conference after the 90-minute summit talks, Lee said that he
agreed with Aso on ''the need to show (North Korea) that there is nothing it
can gain from its nuclear tests and missile launches, through the faithful
implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution by U.N. members.''
To implement the new resolution, adopted in the wake of North Korea's second
nuclear test in May and which includes cargo inspections of North
Korean-related vessels suspected of carrying nuclear or missile-related items,
Aso said that the two leaders agreed to cooperate further on information
exchanges and other areas.
While reaffirming the importance of bilateral cooperation, as well as working
with the United States in dealing with North Korea, the two leaders also agreed
on the need to further cooperate with China, the North's traditional ally.
To seek progress in the stalled six-party denuclearization talks, which the two
see as ''the most realistic framework,'' they also agreed on the need to
''continue considering'' an idea advocated by South Korea of holding five-party
talks involving China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, Aso
said.
''The two leaders agreed that it would be meaningful for the five countries to
gather at some point to discuss how to respond (to the issue) if it contributes
to the progress of the six-party talks,'' a Japanese Foreign Ministry official
said.
The six-party talks have been brought to a standstill since December over ways
to verify Pyongyang's nuclear activities. North Korea has said it will quit the
talks in protest at a U.N. Security Council statement condemning its rocket
launch in April, which was widely seen as a disguised missile test.
On the economic front, the leaders agreed on a specific date for the start of
talks at the deputy director general's level in relation to economic
partnership agreement negotiations.
While Lee said that the two countries may be able to reach an agreement ''at a
surprisingly early period if the countries can understand each other's
stance,'' a separate Foreign Ministry official indicated earlier that starting
upgraded working-level talks was unlikely to represent an immediate
breakthrough.
Past working-level talks were held at the director's level. The negotiations
have been stalled since 2004 because of Tokyo's rejection of Seoul's demand for
a further opening up of Japan's market to agricultural products.
An economic partnership agreement goes beyond a free trade agreement, which
aims mainly at removing tariffs on goods and trade barriers for services, by
covering areas such as intellectual property rights and investment protection
rules.
During the joint press conference, Lee said that he also called on Aso to
''cooperate actively'' in allowing permanent residents of Korean descent living
in Japan to vote in local elections.
The two leaders also agreed to start negotiations toward a bilateral civil
nuclear accord from July 30.
On bilateral initiatives in the international arena, the two agreed to promote
cooperation on antipiracy efforts off the coast of Somalia and assistance for
Afghanistan and Pakistan, Aso said.
Bilateral ties between the two Asian neighbors have improved in recent years
after souring largely under Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister from
April 2001 to September 2006, due to his repeated visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni
Shrine, which the Koreans see as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.
Lee agreed to resume reciprocal visits between the leaders of the two countries
when then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda visited Seoul to attend Lee's
inauguration ceremony on Feb. 25 last year.
Aso took office last September to succeed Fukuda.
Summit meetings between the two countries under the shuttle diplomacy framework
have been held three times since last year, including Sunday's meeting,
according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. Aso visited Seoul in January this
year.
After arriving in Tokyo in the morning, Lee also attended a luncheon with
senior members of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, known as Mindan.
==Kyodo