ID :
13306
Tue, 07/22/2008 - 11:38
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http://m.oananews.org//node/13306
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Japan's Komura arrives in Singapore for ASEAN, N. Korea talks
SINGAPORE, July 22 Kyodo - Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura arrived in Singapore on Monday to attend a series of ASEAN-hosted talks, but the highlight of his visit is expected to be an informal meeting Wednesday with other foreign ministers of the six nations involved in talks on North Korea's denuclearization.
During his four-day stay, Komura is also set to meet one-on-one with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday to coordinate measures to drive forward the six-party process and seek their support for Japan's position.
A meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win on Tuesday morning has also been added to the schedule, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said Monday.
''There will be many meetings, so right now I'm trying to figure out what to say at which meeting,'' Komura told reporters on arrival at a hotel in Singapore.
Asked if he will hold bilateral talks with his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui Chun, Komura only said, ''It's not yet been decided.''Japanese officials have indicated the possibility of a short, informal conversation on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart Yu Myung Hwan appear unlikely as Seoul remains outraged over Japan's decision last week to include for the first time in a teaching guideline its sovereignty claims on a set of South Korean-held islets in the Sea of Japan.
The disputed islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, have been a longstanding thorn in the bilateral relationship.
At the six-party foreign ministerial gathering expected on Wednesday, Komura plans to urge North Korean Foreign Minister Pak for the resumption of bilateral talks to realize Pyongyang's promised reinvestigation of its past abductions of Japanese nationals.
The meeting will come just over a week after the six nations' chief delegates met in Beijing. They agreed to set up a mechanism to verify North Korea's nuclear activities as detailed in a recent declaration but did not draw up details.
Japan's top negotiator at the six-way talks, Akitaka Saiki, arrived in Singapore with Komura on Monday. Saiki is likely to meet with his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill during his stay.
Ahead of the six-way meeting, Komura will call on Rice to help pressure Pyongyang to act on the abduction reinvestigations and hand over Japanese radicals who hijacked a Japan Airlines plane to North Korea in 1970. The two are also expected to discuss appropriate verification steps.
The Japanese minister will also ask for support from China, which maintains close ties with and influence on the Kim Jong Il regime, when meeting Yang.
Komura will request that Beijing continue to help press North Korea to make progress in resolving its past abductions of Japanese nationals and convey Japan's expectations for China's leadership as chair of the six-party talks to enable the early realization of verification of the North's nuclear activities, a Japanese official said Monday evening.
Komura is also expected to once again explain Japan's firm stance of not participating in economic and energy aid to North Korea until it sees progress on resolving the abduction issue and getting the dozen or more missing Japanese repatriated, ministry sources said.
However, China is likely to repeat its call for Japan to be flexible and begin providing its share of the energy assistance for North Korea as agreed on by the six parties in exchange for Pyongyang's abandoning its nuclear arms and programs. The aid is equivalent to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in total.
With the Myanmar foreign minister, Komura is likely to repeat Japan's demand for thorough investigations into the September fatal shooting of a Japanese video journalist by security forces in Yangon, and urge the junta to move forward with democratization, including the release of political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi.
While likely to be overshadowed by North Korea-related events, Komura's itinerary in Singapore also includes attending the ASEAN-plus-three foreign ministerial talks and an East Asia Summit foreign ministerial meeting on Tuesday.
This will be followed by a Japan-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting the next day, and the ASEAN Regional Forum on Thursday.
The Japanese minister will also hold separate talks with other counterparts including Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo.
The series of ASEAN-hosted meetings, held annually to prepare for the leaders' talks later in the year, will focus mainly on food and security, disaster management, economic conditions and climate change issues, the ministry officials said.
The ARF will place specific emphasis on security issues, particularly disaster relief, counterterrorism, maritime security, and nonproliferation and disarmament, according to the officials.
The 10-member ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They are joined by Japan, China and South Korea in the ASEAN-plus-three talks.
The East Asia Summit meeting involves the 13 nations with Australia, New Zealand and India. Meanwhile, the ARF brings together these 16 as well as Canada, North Korea, Russia, the United States, the European Union and others.
Among them, North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are members of the six-party talks.
Komura will make a one-day visit to Hanoi from Singapore on Friday aimed at bolstering bilateral cooperation, before arriving back in Tokyo on Saturday morning.
During his four-day stay, Komura is also set to meet one-on-one with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Tuesday and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday to coordinate measures to drive forward the six-party process and seek their support for Japan's position.
A meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win on Tuesday morning has also been added to the schedule, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said Monday.
''There will be many meetings, so right now I'm trying to figure out what to say at which meeting,'' Komura told reporters on arrival at a hotel in Singapore.
Asked if he will hold bilateral talks with his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui Chun, Komura only said, ''It's not yet been decided.''Japanese officials have indicated the possibility of a short, informal conversation on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart Yu Myung Hwan appear unlikely as Seoul remains outraged over Japan's decision last week to include for the first time in a teaching guideline its sovereignty claims on a set of South Korean-held islets in the Sea of Japan.
The disputed islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, have been a longstanding thorn in the bilateral relationship.
At the six-party foreign ministerial gathering expected on Wednesday, Komura plans to urge North Korean Foreign Minister Pak for the resumption of bilateral talks to realize Pyongyang's promised reinvestigation of its past abductions of Japanese nationals.
The meeting will come just over a week after the six nations' chief delegates met in Beijing. They agreed to set up a mechanism to verify North Korea's nuclear activities as detailed in a recent declaration but did not draw up details.
Japan's top negotiator at the six-way talks, Akitaka Saiki, arrived in Singapore with Komura on Monday. Saiki is likely to meet with his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill during his stay.
Ahead of the six-way meeting, Komura will call on Rice to help pressure Pyongyang to act on the abduction reinvestigations and hand over Japanese radicals who hijacked a Japan Airlines plane to North Korea in 1970. The two are also expected to discuss appropriate verification steps.
The Japanese minister will also ask for support from China, which maintains close ties with and influence on the Kim Jong Il regime, when meeting Yang.
Komura will request that Beijing continue to help press North Korea to make progress in resolving its past abductions of Japanese nationals and convey Japan's expectations for China's leadership as chair of the six-party talks to enable the early realization of verification of the North's nuclear activities, a Japanese official said Monday evening.
Komura is also expected to once again explain Japan's firm stance of not participating in economic and energy aid to North Korea until it sees progress on resolving the abduction issue and getting the dozen or more missing Japanese repatriated, ministry sources said.
However, China is likely to repeat its call for Japan to be flexible and begin providing its share of the energy assistance for North Korea as agreed on by the six parties in exchange for Pyongyang's abandoning its nuclear arms and programs. The aid is equivalent to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in total.
With the Myanmar foreign minister, Komura is likely to repeat Japan's demand for thorough investigations into the September fatal shooting of a Japanese video journalist by security forces in Yangon, and urge the junta to move forward with democratization, including the release of political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi.
While likely to be overshadowed by North Korea-related events, Komura's itinerary in Singapore also includes attending the ASEAN-plus-three foreign ministerial talks and an East Asia Summit foreign ministerial meeting on Tuesday.
This will be followed by a Japan-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting the next day, and the ASEAN Regional Forum on Thursday.
The Japanese minister will also hold separate talks with other counterparts including Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo.
The series of ASEAN-hosted meetings, held annually to prepare for the leaders' talks later in the year, will focus mainly on food and security, disaster management, economic conditions and climate change issues, the ministry officials said.
The ARF will place specific emphasis on security issues, particularly disaster relief, counterterrorism, maritime security, and nonproliferation and disarmament, according to the officials.
The 10-member ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They are joined by Japan, China and South Korea in the ASEAN-plus-three talks.
The East Asia Summit meeting involves the 13 nations with Australia, New Zealand and India. Meanwhile, the ARF brings together these 16 as well as Canada, North Korea, Russia, the United States, the European Union and others.
Among them, North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are members of the six-party talks.
Komura will make a one-day visit to Hanoi from Singapore on Friday aimed at bolstering bilateral cooperation, before arriving back in Tokyo on Saturday morning.
