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Japan, South Korea agree to seek dialogue with North Korea
Seoul, July 13: Japan and South Korea agreed today to seek dialogue with North Korea despite a deadly sea skirmish that chilled relations on the divided Korean peninsula and prompted Washington to withdraw a proposal for security talks with the Communist north.
Seoul, July 13: Japan and South Korea agreed today to
seek dialogue with North Korea despite a deadly sea skirmish
that chilled relations on the divided Korean peninsula and
prompted Washington to withdraw a proposal for security talks
with the Communist north.
Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who arrived in Seoul late yesterday for a three-day visit, today met South Korean foreign affairs and trade minister Choi Sung-Hong and then visited President Kim Dae-Jung for talks that focussed on the June 29 gunbattle between North and South Korean patrol boats. President Kim - who hopes the clash will not derail his "sunshine" policy of engaging North Korea - explained his wishes and Kawaguchi reconfirmed Japan's support for the South Korean approach, the president's office said in a statement. "President Kim thanked the Japanese government for maintaining its policy of seeking dialogue with North Korea following the western sea clash and holding high-level talks with the united states for this matter," it said.
Kawaguchi later toured Panmunjom, a border village inside the demilitarised zone that separates the two Koreas, which share the world's most heavily armed border. The 1950-53 Korean war ended in a cease-fire but no peace treaty. South Korea and its two key allies, Japan and the US, are trying to coordinate their policy toward North Korea following the naval clash that took place along a poorly marked western sea border.
The three allies regularly discuss strategy toward North Korea which they consider a threat to regional security.
Bureau Report
Japanese foreign minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who arrived in Seoul late yesterday for a three-day visit, today met South Korean foreign affairs and trade minister Choi Sung-Hong and then visited President Kim Dae-Jung for talks that focussed on the June 29 gunbattle between North and South Korean patrol boats. President Kim - who hopes the clash will not derail his "sunshine" policy of engaging North Korea - explained his wishes and Kawaguchi reconfirmed Japan's support for the South Korean approach, the president's office said in a statement. "President Kim thanked the Japanese government for maintaining its policy of seeking dialogue with North Korea following the western sea clash and holding high-level talks with the united states for this matter," it said.
Kawaguchi later toured Panmunjom, a border village inside the demilitarised zone that separates the two Koreas, which share the world's most heavily armed border. The 1950-53 Korean war ended in a cease-fire but no peace treaty. South Korea and its two key allies, Japan and the US, are trying to coordinate their policy toward North Korea following the naval clash that took place along a poorly marked western sea border.
The three allies regularly discuss strategy toward North Korea which they consider a threat to regional security.
Bureau Report