Lee, Hatoyama call for one-step denuclearization of N. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks, more details)
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama agreed Friday to seek a "comprehensive" solution to
ending North Korea's nuclear development through a package deal.
"We agreed on the need for a fundamental and comprehensive solution to the North
Korean nuclear issue that will not lead to the negotiation tactics of the past,
and we agreed to work closely together on a way to resolve the issue in a single
step," Lee said in a joint press conference after his summit with the Japanese
prime minister.
The idea of a singe-step solution was proposed last month by the South Korean
president, who urged an end to North Korea's "salami tactic" of dividing its
denuclearization process into a multitude of bargaining chips and demanding
incentives for each of them.
Hatoyama said Lee's proposal for a "grand bargain" was a "completely correct"
approach to denuclearizing the North.
"We must find out North Korea's true intentions by pursuing a complete and
comprehensive solution to North Korea's nuclear, as well as its ballistic missile
programs. Unless North Korea shows willingness to give them up, we must not
provide economic assistance," the Japanese premier told the press conference.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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