Japan, China, S. Korea Call for U.S.-N. Korea Talks to Continue

Chengdu, China, Dec. 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan, China and South Korea on Tuesday called for the continuation of talks between the United States and North Korea to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The trilateral call came as North Korea is stepping up its provocative behavior, including weapons tests, ahead of the year-end deadline it set for the denuclearization talks with the United States. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in were meeting in the inland Chinese city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The three leaders also shared the aim of concluding promptly the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement among Asian and Oceanian economies. At his meeting with Japanese and foreign reporters later on Tuesday, Abe said North Korea should refrain from further provocations as the denuclearization dialogue is facing a critical stage. "This is a concerted message" from the three leaders, he said. At the three-way meeting, Abe said North Korea's recent repeated firing of ballistic missiles has violated related U.N. Security Council resolutions and posed a grave threat to regional security, according to officials familiar with the summit talks. The Japanese leader highlighted the importance of backing as far as possible the U.S.-North Korea process toward the complete denuclearization of the peninsula. Meanwhile, Abe called for Chinese and South Korean support for efforts to resolve the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea. Li and Moon showed their understanding of the Japanese request. At a joint press conference following the meeting, Abe said, "It's important to strengthen the U.S.-North Korea dialogue process in order to realize the complete denuclearization of North Korea." Li said that denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and maintaining peace in Northeast Asia are common goals for the three countries, adding that holding talks is the only valid way of achieving them. Moon said his country will closely cooperate with Japan and China to help denuclearize the peninsula and bring about permanent peace there. On the RCEP trade deal, Abe said he and the Chinese and South Korean leaders agreed to continue efforts to have it signed at an early date by 16 countries including India, which has indicated its possible withdrawal from the trade initiative. Japan, China and South Korea started to hold a trilateral summit in 1999 and have held it on a regular basis since 2008. As the trilateral dialogue marked its 20th year, the latest and eighth summit produced documents on cooperation among the three neighbors over the next decade. At the beginning of the summit, Li, who served as its chair, said he wants to create a new vision for the trilateral cooperation by enhancing mutual trust. Abe said he wants to make the summit an opportunity to deepen the trilateral cooperation in dealing with regional issues, such as the situation in North Korea, as well as global issues. Moon said the three countries have the same dream, calling for promoting their cooperation. Ahead of the meeting, business leaders from Japan, China and South Korea held talks in Chengdu. END