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Roh, Koizumi Seek To Break Nuke Impasse

AFP file photo
Seoul (UPI) Jul 21, 2004
South Korea and Japan Wednesday agreed to push for rapprochement with North Korea as part of efforts to build peace in Northeast Asia, while speeding up joint works toward the dismantlement of nuclear development programs in the communist nation.

The summit agreement by the two neighbors was welcomed as boosting the momentum to end the 21-month standoff over Pyongyang's atomic weapons ambitions.

We made clear that South Korea and Japan will cooperate (to help Pyongyang) when the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said at a joint press conference at the end of two-hour summit with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

South Korea will implement comprehensive and specific inter-Korean projects, and Japan will actively work toward establishing diplomatic relations and economic cooperation with the North, he said in the nationally televised conference.

But Roh did not elaborate on what projects he was considering for North Korea. South Korea has already pushed for an industrial complex in a North Korea border and construction of cross-border railroads while providing massive food aid. The two Koreas have also operated a joint tour project in a North Korean mountain resort.

Government officials in Seoul said they were considering providing much-needed energy to North Korea if it pledges to give up nuclear weapons drive.

In the summit, Roh also praised Japan's role in resolving the standoff over the North's nuclear ambitions. Japan's position is very important in dealing with North Korea's security concerns and its moves toward reforms and door-opening, he said.

For its part, Koizumi said, Japan is prepared to establish diplomatic relations with North Korea any time if Pyongyang implements its commitments in a declaration it issued with Japan in September 2002.

If the Pyongyang Declaration is implemented in a sincere manner, relations could be normalized even within a year, he said in the press conference on the South's resort island of Jeju.

Under the Pyongyang Declaration, which Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il signed during their first meeting in September 2002 in Pyongyang, the two nations agreed to move toward resolving concerns over North Korea's nuclear arms and missile arsenal and its abduction of Japanese citizens.

Japanese officials said North Korea's decision to allow accused U.S. Army deserter Charles Jenkins to leave the communist nation to be reunited with his Japanese wife has increased the chances of normalization talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang.

North Korea has acted positively toward Mr. Jenkins and his family's visit and also toward the issue of the missing Japanese nationals. I think that conditions are being met to start negotiations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said on the eve of the Japan-South Korea summit.

A Japanese diplomat in Seoul said Japan hopes to step up working-level negotiations with North Korea to discuss resumption of talks aimed at normalizing bilateral ties as early as August.

Japan and North Korea began normalization talks in 1991, but negotiations were broken off a year later when Japan raised the issue of Japanese it says were abducted by North Korea.

North Korea wants improved ties with Japan in the hopes that Tokyo would provide money to the country if formal relations are forged, as it did to South Korea in 1965 in a compensation fund for Tokyo's harsh colonial rule. Pyongyang's compensation claim is expected to reach $10 billion.

However, Koizumi stressed the resolution of the nuclear crisis as a precondition for the normalization of the bilateral relations. But the envisioned setup of diplomatic relations could be delayed until even after my two-year tenure should the North fail to implement its (anti-nuclear) agreement, he said.

Roh also made clear that he would not seek summit talks with the North Korean leader without substantial progress in the nuclear impasse.

I don't think it is the right time for me to urge North Korea to participate in an inter-Korean summit meeting, Roh said.

What is important is whether the envisioned summit will help resolve the impasse over the North Korean nuclear program and improve inter-Korean relations, he said.

Roh and Koizumi also agreed on the need to reinforce their alliances with the United States to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. We agreed that South Korea, Japan and the United States should work together to push North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs, Koizumi said.

The three countries are pursuing the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear development programs through a six-nation framework also involving China, North Korea and Russia.

Efforts are under way to press North Korea to freeze and dismantle the programs in return for security assurances and energy assistance, with the next round of talks scheduled for the end of September.

BOX: Businessmen urge lifting arms export ban Tokyo, (UPI) July 21 , 2004 - Japan's leading business association has urged the government to review the rules banning weapons exports to raise international competitiveness.

The Japan Business Federation Monday submitted a proposal titled Future Policy for Organizing Defense Capability to a private panel advising Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on national security and defense, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday.

Three principles, established in 1967, prohibited arms exports to communist bloc nations, nations under United Nations arms embargos, and countries involved in armed conflicts.

A total ban on arms exports was imposed in 1976. However, since 1983, military technology transfers to the United States have been allowed.

The business group said, The principles prevent Japan from participating in joint weapons production with other nations, raising concerns over future technology and its financial burden.

The proposal also called for a review of the policy of the peaceful utilization of space, which puts constraints on satellite usage by Self Defense Forces.

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