Japan, US seek talks on N.Korea in Hanoi

WORLD / Top News

Japan, US seek talks on N.Korea in Hanoi

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-11-06 15:37

TOKYO - Japan and the United States want their foreign ministers to meet
counterparts from China, South Korea and Russia next week to discuss
North Korea's nuclear programs, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said
on Monday.

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns (C) and
Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph
(R) speak with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso at the latter's office
in Tokyo, November 6, 2006. [Reuters]

The proposed meeting would take place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation ( APEC) forum meeting in Hanoi, Aso told reporters
after talks with UnderSecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas
Burns and UnderSecretary of State for Arms Control Security Robert Joseph.

North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test on October 9, agreed last
week to rejoin six-party talks on its nuclear programs after staying away
for a year in protest at a US crackdown on its international finances.
Those talks bring together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the
United States.

"What is most important is that the five parties maintain close
solidarity," Aso said.

Pyongyang's nuclear test drew worldwide condemnation and UN sanctions.
China has supported the UN sanctions, which target trade in large
conventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction and luxury goods.

Aso said the United States and Japan had agreed that North Korea should
not be recognized as a nuclear power and the resumption of six-party
talks should not spell an end to sanctions imposed following the October
9 nuclear test.

"Reopening the six-way talks is not the objective. The six-party talks
are a means and the objective is for them to give up nuclear weapons,"
Aso said.

Burns, speaking separately, said Japan and the United States saw "eye to
eye on the question of North Korea" and rejected a call by Pyongyang for
Tokyo to stay away from the nuclear talks.

"These are six-party talks. The United States believes that one of our
most important partners in this configuration is Japan," Burns told
reporters. "Obviously, we all stick together and we are all partners in
these negotiations."

North Korea said on Saturday that Japan should not bother to attend the
six-party talks because Tokyo was refusing to recognize Pyongyang as a
nuclear weapons state and because Japan was no more than a "state" of the
United States.

Joseph said Tokyo and Washington had agreed that a UN Security Council
resolution calling for sanctions on North Korea should continue to be
implemented fully until Pyongyang met all of the resolution's demands,
including the irreversible, verifiable and complete elimination of its
nuclear program.

"We are of one mind that this resolution provides the way ahead," he said.

The US officials are expected to head for Seoul later on Monday, and from
there to travel to Beijing and Moscow.

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