Vice FMs of S. Korea, Japan meet over nuke, upcoming summit

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan met on Monday for talks over the North Korean nuclear issue and the upcoming summit between their leaders, officials said.

The neighboring nations launched the strategic dialogue in 2005 to promote
bilateral cooperation. The latest round, the seventh of its kind, came ahead of a
summit expected to take place Jan. 10-12 between South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso,
"I expect this round of the strategic talks will help lay the groundwork for our
relations to move forward to a mature companionship," South Korean Vice Foreign
Minister Kwon Jong-rak told his counterpart Mitoji Yabunaka before starting their
talks.
Yabunaka responded by saying, "I expect we will exchange our views in a heart to
heart way about East Asia and international economic issues."
Officials said the ministers had in-depth discussions on the North Korean
denuclearization talks, which ended without progress earlier this month, measures
to follow up on a previous summit between the nation's leaders' held in Fukuoka
on Dec. 13 and preparations for the upcoming meeting in Seoul.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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