Japan, U.S.,ROK Seek N. Korea's Action toward Denuclearization

Washington, June 19 (Jiji Press)--Senior diplomats of Japan, the United States and South Korea underscored Wednesday the importance of North Korea taking "meaningful" steps toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. At their meeting in Washington, the officials agreed to decide whether to enter into talks with North Korea based on "its actions, not its words," according to a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State. The Japanese, U.S. and South Korean negotiators also agreed to hold a meeting of the three countries' foreign ministers at an early time. The diplomats met here to exchange views on recent moves by North Korea, such as the start of strategic dialogue with China and a proposal for high-level talks with the United States, and found it necessary to closely watch further developments while enhancing their countries' cooperation. There will be no resolution to the nuclear standoff unless North Korea sincerely complies with a joint statement at a 2005 six-party meeting in which the reclusive nation promised to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs and with past U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea, they reaffirmed. The day's meeting was attended by Glyn Davies, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, Shinsuke Sugiyama, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and Cho Tae Yong, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs. Emerging from the meeting, Sugiyama told reporters that the three countries have no intention to have "dialogue for dialogue" with North Korea. But "the door is open for substantive, fruitful dialogue," he added. Meanwhile, Sugiyama noted at the meeting the significance of the issue of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea decades ago, and his U.S. and South Korean counterparts pledged to cooperate toward the resolution of the issue. The proposed meeting among the Japanese, U.S. and South Korean foreign ministers is expected to take place on the sidelines of international meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brunei starting in late June. The three senior diplomats agreed to speed up arrangements for the ministerial talks. END --------------------------------------------------------------------------------