Seoul, Aug 23: South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi today as diplomatic activity intensified ahead of talks in the Chinese capital on the Korean nuclear crisis. Roh described the talks to begin in Beijing among the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China on Wednesday as a "first step toward a peaceful solution" to the dispute over the communist state's suspected nuclear ambitions, Roh's office said.
"The six-way talks are the first step toward a peaceful solution and I suspect there will be some difficulties ahead. But I hope South Korea, Japan and other countries concerned do their best so as to keep the momentum of dialogue and work out a workable solution," Roh told the Japanese minister.
After the meeting, Kawaguchi told journalists she had delivered a message from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Roh, calling for cooperation in coping with the nuclear crisis.
"It is important for Japan, South Korea and the United States to maintain close policy cooperation to ensure that the six-way talks become a success," she said.
Following her arrival yesterday, Kawaguchi met her South Korean counterpart Yoon Young-Kwan to fine-tune their governments' positions ahead of the six-way talks.
Bureau Report