Los Cabos (Mexico), Oct 24: Japan has warned that
talks on normalising relations with North Korea would only go
ahead if the isolated state bows to international demands to
dismantle its nuclear weapons programme.
Japanese senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs
Toshimitsu Motegi delivered the warning during a ministerial
meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum,
a week after Washington said Pyongyang had confessed it had a
secret nuclear weapons programme.
"Japan has grave concerns about North Korea's nuclear
development and weapons of mass destruction," Motegi said.
"Security problems over North Korea are not only a matter
of grave international concern, but also Japan's national
concern," he said.
Motegi said Tokyo would press Pyongyang to respect
international accords on the Korean nuclear issue when the two
countries resume decade-old rapprochement talks in Kuala
Lumpur on October 29.
But "normalisation talks will not proceed without
progress in the security question," he said.
South Korea's Foreign and Trade Minister, Choi Sung-Hog,
also raised concerns during the meeting about North Korea's
nuclear programme, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
Motegi told the meeting that Japan would keep close in
contact with the United States and South Korea over the North
Korean issue.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is due to
discuss the issue this weekend with US President George W Bush
and South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung on the sidelines of
the APEC summit.
Bureau Report
