Aso, Lee to bolster cooperation, but leave touchy issues aside+

TOKYO, Jan. 8 Kyodo -
Japan and South Korea at their scheduled summit in Seoul on Monday plan to
discuss cooperation in academic research, ways of addressing the global
financial crisis and international contributions, Japanese government sources
said Thursday.
But Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
are expected to make no reference during the talks to the longstanding thorny
territorial issue over a set of islets in the Sea of Japan, called Takeshima in
Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, according to the sources.
With the aim of building a ''new era'' in the bilateral partnership, Aso and
Lee plan to launch a joint research project by the end of this month to study a
range of political and economic problems facing the international community,
they said.
The project was proposed during the summit last April in Tokyo between then
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Lee, but has been shelved as Japan's
apparent fresh claim over the disputed islets in July provoked anger from
Seoul. Japan said in July it decided to refer to the bilateral row in an
educational guideline for junior high schools.
Aso and Lee are also expected to reaffirm their agreement to cooperate in
addressing the global financial crunch that has battered the two economies. The
agreement was made at a trilateral summit in Fukuoka Prefecture along with
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in mid-December.
They are likely to join hands in promoting bilateral cooperation among small
and midsize companies in the materials and parts industry, as well as in the
area of science and technology with an eye toward South Korea's planned launch
of a satellite on a Japanese H-2A rocket.
In terms of international contributions, the two are set to agree to tie up in
providing official development aid to help reconstruct conflict-devastated
Afghanistan, especially in such areas as education and medicine.
The leaders are expected to reaffirm the importance of the Japan-South
Korea-United States framework to end North Korea's nuclear program.
More than 10 experts are expected to comprise a team for the joint project, and
two representatives who will be chosen from each country will decide what
specific areas to discuss by the end of this month, the sources said.
Aso is scheduled to visit South Korea for two days from Sunday and hold talks
with Lee the following day.
==Kyodo
2009-01-08 21:19:39