Japan, S. Korea Reaffirm Cooperation over N. Korea

Seoul, Jan. 8 (Jiji Press)--Kenji Kanasugi, Japan's chief representative in the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear development program, and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon, reaffirmed at their meeting in Seoul on Monday the two countries' close cooperation in response to issues related to the reclusive nation. The reconfirmation came just ahead of high-level talks between the two Koreas in Panmunjom on Tuesday. A senior official at South Korea's presidential office has said that the issue of North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February will be top priority for Seoul in the inter-Korean talks. Japan and the United States are concerned that such a stance could help weaken the international pressure on North Korea. The high-level talks between North and South Korea will be the first since December 2015. After the talks with Lee, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, Kanasugi, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told reporters, "North Korea's move to seek dialogue with the South has resulted from our efforts, including pressure on the country." Kanasugi also said that he and Lee agreed to keep strengthening pressure on Pyongyang, which continues nuclear and ballistic missile development, to prompt it to change its policy, stressing that they reconfirmed that cooperation between Japan and South Korea and among the two countries plus the United States will be important in the process. Noting that he praises to a certain extent moves by North and South Korea toward the success of the Pyeongchang Games, Kanasugi said he will keep a close watch on North Korea's future actions. END