ID :
81599
Thu, 09/24/2009 - 21:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/81599
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Hatoyama, Lee agree to work on N. Korea issues
NEW YORK, Sept. 23 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
agreed Wednesday that the two countries will continue to work closely on issues
related to North Korea and that Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs cannot
be tolerated, Japanese government officials said.
No thorny bilateral issues, such as Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine or the differences
in the two countries' historical views on the wartime past, came up during the
meeting, the officials said.
Hatoyama and Lee, who met in New York on the sidelines of U.N. meetings, agreed
that North Korea's nuclear and missile programs could be a serious threat to
peace and stability not just for East Asia but also the world and cannot be
tolerated.
The leaders also confirmed the importance of maintaining ''unwavering
cooperation'' among Japan, South Korea, and the United States and of urging
North Korea to return to the negotiating table within the six-party framework
also involving China and Russia, they said.
When the two spoke by phone Aug. 31, one day after the election that swept the
Democratic Party of Japan to a historic victory, Lee told Hatoyama that Seoul
believes fundamental cooperation between North and South Korea will be
impossible unless Pyongyang abandons nuclear weapons.
The administration led by Hatoyama's DPJ is expected to build a comfortable
relationship with South Korea, as it has indicated a view supportive of giving
South Koreans living in Japan the right to vote in elections to choose local
leaders or assemblymen.
Hatoyama has also promised to refrain from visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine,
which honors Japanese war criminals along with the war dead. China and other
countries regard Yasukuni as a symbol of Japanese military aggression.
On Japan-South Korea ties, Hatoyama described them as ''the most important
neighboring relations,'' and Lee said he hopes to build bilateral ties that are
geographically and psychologically close.
They agreed to step up cooperation on efforts against global warming, with Lee
commending Hatoyama for his pledge to try to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 25
percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
Hatoyama told Lee that Japan will support South Korea's proposal to host the
next Group of 20 summit of developed and emerging economies, the officials
said. South Korea is the chair of next year's G-20 finance ministerial talks.
They said leaders of the G-20 economies will officially decide on the summit's
next venue when they gather in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday.
==Kyodo
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
agreed Wednesday that the two countries will continue to work closely on issues
related to North Korea and that Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs cannot
be tolerated, Japanese government officials said.
No thorny bilateral issues, such as Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine or the differences
in the two countries' historical views on the wartime past, came up during the
meeting, the officials said.
Hatoyama and Lee, who met in New York on the sidelines of U.N. meetings, agreed
that North Korea's nuclear and missile programs could be a serious threat to
peace and stability not just for East Asia but also the world and cannot be
tolerated.
The leaders also confirmed the importance of maintaining ''unwavering
cooperation'' among Japan, South Korea, and the United States and of urging
North Korea to return to the negotiating table within the six-party framework
also involving China and Russia, they said.
When the two spoke by phone Aug. 31, one day after the election that swept the
Democratic Party of Japan to a historic victory, Lee told Hatoyama that Seoul
believes fundamental cooperation between North and South Korea will be
impossible unless Pyongyang abandons nuclear weapons.
The administration led by Hatoyama's DPJ is expected to build a comfortable
relationship with South Korea, as it has indicated a view supportive of giving
South Koreans living in Japan the right to vote in elections to choose local
leaders or assemblymen.
Hatoyama has also promised to refrain from visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine,
which honors Japanese war criminals along with the war dead. China and other
countries regard Yasukuni as a symbol of Japanese military aggression.
On Japan-South Korea ties, Hatoyama described them as ''the most important
neighboring relations,'' and Lee said he hopes to build bilateral ties that are
geographically and psychologically close.
They agreed to step up cooperation on efforts against global warming, with Lee
commending Hatoyama for his pledge to try to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 25
percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
Hatoyama told Lee that Japan will support South Korea's proposal to host the
next Group of 20 summit of developed and emerging economies, the officials
said. South Korea is the chair of next year's G-20 finance ministerial talks.
They said leaders of the G-20 economies will officially decide on the summit's
next venue when they gather in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday.
==Kyodo
