Roh, Koizumi Warn NK Against Nuclear Program
2003-06-09
TOKYO -- South Korea and Japan warned North Korea Saturday (June 7) not to take action that might aggravate the nuclear row on the Korean Peninsula.
President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi came out of their summit talks with a joint statement warning that they will not tolerate any possession or development of nuclear arms. The issue should be solved peacefully and diplomatically, they said.
"For a peaceful solution, North Korea should not take action which aggravates the situation, and its nuclear program must be dismantled verifiably and irrevocably," the statement said.
If the nuclear problem is fully resolved, the international community would be able to provide comprehensive assistance to North Korea, it said.
President Roh expressed concerns at Japan's passage of bills expanding military self-defense capabilities.
He hoped Japan will build trust with neighboring countries by adhering to its war-renouncing constitution.
On the unhappy history between their nations, the two leaders reaffirmed the new partnership forged at the 1998 summit and said the two countries should "go forward to develop future-oriented bilateral relations for the 21st century" while acknowledging the past.
Koreans still have the bitter memories of Japan's colonial rule 1910-1945, which ended at the end of World War II.
Meeting for their second summit since Roh's inauguration in February, the two leaders expressed full support for each other's policies on North Korea -- Roh's policy of peace and prosperity and Japan's stance on resolving the nuclear and missile issues and Pyongyang's kidnapping of its citizens before forging diplomatic normalization with North Korea.
Both Roh and Koizumi met U.S. President George W. Bush last month, in which they discussed "further steps" and "tougher measures" against North Korea, apparently referring to sanctions and military action.
Asked about the absence of such high-toned phrases in the meeting with Roh, Koizumi said further steps have been mentioned to emphasize a peaceful solution.
"Words and phrases such as further steps, pressure, tougher measures are all means to induce a peaceful solution. They are all meant to induce dialogue," he said at a news conference following the summit.
The South Korean president said both dialogue and pressure could be used against Pyongyang, "but I want to make the point that South Korea puts more emphasis on the dialogue."
The Stalinist regime in North Korea told a U.S. government delegate last October it was running a nuclear arms program using uranium. It later said it already possessed nuclear weapons.
South Korea, Japan and the United States have been working together to make North Korea come clean of its nuclear ambitions.
Although they share the sense of threat from North Korea, Seoul and Tokyo have not officially reconciled with their history, which is checkered by colonial domination, sexual slavery and forced immigration that left hundreds of Koreans abandoned on foreign soil after being sent there as forced labor.
"I came to Japan determined not to talk about the past," Roh said at a news conference.
"If South Korea and Japan can have an understanding based on trust, friendship and cooperation, and the people are convinced that such past will not be repeated, the past will be folded as history," Roh said.
"But as long as suspicion and distrust remain in the minds of the people, no matter what the president says, the past stays alive and can invite further misfortune."
He said he sees Japan's passage of self-defense legislation in the same light. Every nation has laws enabling defense of the country, he commented.
"But I told the prime minister that it is undeniable that neighboring nations are alerted by the changes in Japan's military policy," said Roh.
"I believe that the law itself is not the problem. It is a matter of what kind of a role Japan, as a superpower, assumes for world peace and assures the neighboring countries and the world," he said.
The two leaders discussed waiving entry visas for Koreans traveling to Japan and the signing of a free trade agreement but were unable to come to a full agreement.
They concluded instead to make further efforts and draw success as soon as possible.
Source : www.korea.net
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