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Three Powers Resolve to Rid North Korea of Nuclear Weapons
China, Japan and South Korea issued a joint declaration Tuesday, resolving to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons and stop WMD proliferation (see GSN, Oct. 8). The declaration was signed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Indonesia. China was the force behind the statement and Beijing is hoping the move improves East Asian economic and security cooperation, the Asahi Shimbun reported. The countries will address “all the concerns of the parties,” according to the statement. The declaration did not specifically mention North Korea, but says the countries will “reaffirm their commitment to a peaceful solution of the nuclear issue facing the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” (Hiroshi Ito, Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 9). The countries also pledged to “prevent and curb proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, based on international regimes, through political, diplomatic and administrative measures including effective export controls” (Joint Declaration/Japanese Foreign Ministry release, Oct. 7). Separately, Seoul called on the United States to soften its stance against North Korea. “North Korea is not a counterpart which has no possibility of changing its attitude through dialogue, although it is understandable that the United States distrusts it,” said South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun. “Therefore, the United States will be able to lead (negotiations) at its own pace if it opens its mind slightly,” he added (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 9). South Korean officials are scheduled to travel to Pyongyang for three-day Cabinet-level meetings beginning Tuesday. At the meeting, South Korea will try to “persuade North Korea to make a more diligent and progressive attitude so that the North Korean nuclear issue can be resolved soon,” Jeong said (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 9). South Korea and the United States yesterday wrapped up talks on the relocation of U.S. forces stationed there but could not reach common ground. “We have negotiated to draw a comprehensive agreement to replace a memorandum of understanding and a memorandum of agreement signed in 1991 on the relocation conditions, but there was a wide gap between the two nations,” a South Korean Defense Ministry official said (Kim Ki-tae, Korea Times, Oct. 9).
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