ID :
100158
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 01:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/100158
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea foreign minister calls for `harmonious` Futemma settlement
SEOUL, Jan. 14 Kyodo -
South Korean foreign minister Yu Myung Hwan said Thursday he hopes for a
''harmonious'' settlement of a spat over relocation of a U.S. military base in
Okinawa that has strained Japan-U.S. relations.
''(South) Korea's position is to see the issue being settled in a harmonious
way between the United States and Japan,'' Yu said in an interview with Kyodo
News.
He said the U.S. Marines' Futemma Air Station located in Japan's southernmost
prefecture plays an important role as a rear base of the U.S. forces in (South)
Korea in event of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula.
''(South) Korea and Japan have the common goal of pursuing stability, peace and
prosperity in Northeast Asia, and also have forged alliances with the United
States,'' Yu said.
Yu's remarks on the Futemma relocation issue are the first to be made publicly
by a top-ranking South Korean official.
Washington has been pressing Tokyo to stick to a 2006 deal under which the
heliport functions at Futemma would be moved to a less densely populated area
in Okinawa by 2014.
But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government has delayed a decision and is
looking into the possibility of an alternative relocation site, including out
of Okinawa to reduce the already heavy burden on its people, or even outside
the country.
The 2006 deal is part of a broader agreement on the reconfiguration of U.S.
forces in Japan, including the transfer of about 8,000 Marines stationed in
Okinawa to Guam.
Regarding the prospects for a visit by Japanese Emperor Akihito to South Korea,
Yu said South Korea has already extended an invitation and thus welcomes such a
visit ''at any time.''
He said he thinks it is time now for the Japanese government to decide on the
emperor's visit to South Korea, which will more likely to be affected by public
sentiment in Japan.
In an interview with Kyodo News last year, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
expressed hopes Emperor Akihito will visit South Korea in 2010.
Lee said he wants the emperor's visit to South Korea to help ''put an end to
the sense of distance'' between the two countries as this year marks a century
since Japan annexed the Korean Peninsula, which it ruled until the end of World
War II in 1945.
As for the stalemated six-way talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons
program, Yu called on China, as host of the talks that were last held in
December 2008 in Beijing, to work harder so that they can be resumed at an
early date.
China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reiterated its call for an early resumption
of the talks, which involve North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the
United States.
North Korea pulled out of the six-way talks in April 2009 to protest a U.N.
Security Council condemnation of a rocket launch it conducted the same month.
It added to the tension the following month by detonating a nuclear device for
the second time.
North Korea held talks with the United States last month, during which the two
sides reached ''common understandings'' on the need to resume the six-way
talks, but failed to work out specifics for their resumption.
Asked about North Korea's recent proposal to hold talks on a peace treaty that
would replace the armistice that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War, Yu said the
North should first return to the six-way talks.
''Isn't it in right order (for North Korea) to come to the six-way talks first
and show its determination on its denuclearization and then propose such talks
(on a peace treaty)?'' he said.
Touching on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the
1970s and 1980s, Yu said South Korea is willing to offer whatever support it
can for the resolution of the issue.
He added North Korea should not use the issue of Japanese abductees to delay
the holding of negotiations at the six-way talks on its denuclearization.
The abduction issue remains a major obstacle preventing Japan and North Korea
from establishing diplomatic ties. Negotiations between the two countries to
resolve the issue have stalled.
==Kyodo
South Korean foreign minister Yu Myung Hwan said Thursday he hopes for a
''harmonious'' settlement of a spat over relocation of a U.S. military base in
Okinawa that has strained Japan-U.S. relations.
''(South) Korea's position is to see the issue being settled in a harmonious
way between the United States and Japan,'' Yu said in an interview with Kyodo
News.
He said the U.S. Marines' Futemma Air Station located in Japan's southernmost
prefecture plays an important role as a rear base of the U.S. forces in (South)
Korea in event of a contingency on the Korean Peninsula.
''(South) Korea and Japan have the common goal of pursuing stability, peace and
prosperity in Northeast Asia, and also have forged alliances with the United
States,'' Yu said.
Yu's remarks on the Futemma relocation issue are the first to be made publicly
by a top-ranking South Korean official.
Washington has been pressing Tokyo to stick to a 2006 deal under which the
heliport functions at Futemma would be moved to a less densely populated area
in Okinawa by 2014.
But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government has delayed a decision and is
looking into the possibility of an alternative relocation site, including out
of Okinawa to reduce the already heavy burden on its people, or even outside
the country.
The 2006 deal is part of a broader agreement on the reconfiguration of U.S.
forces in Japan, including the transfer of about 8,000 Marines stationed in
Okinawa to Guam.
Regarding the prospects for a visit by Japanese Emperor Akihito to South Korea,
Yu said South Korea has already extended an invitation and thus welcomes such a
visit ''at any time.''
He said he thinks it is time now for the Japanese government to decide on the
emperor's visit to South Korea, which will more likely to be affected by public
sentiment in Japan.
In an interview with Kyodo News last year, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak
expressed hopes Emperor Akihito will visit South Korea in 2010.
Lee said he wants the emperor's visit to South Korea to help ''put an end to
the sense of distance'' between the two countries as this year marks a century
since Japan annexed the Korean Peninsula, which it ruled until the end of World
War II in 1945.
As for the stalemated six-way talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons
program, Yu called on China, as host of the talks that were last held in
December 2008 in Beijing, to work harder so that they can be resumed at an
early date.
China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reiterated its call for an early resumption
of the talks, which involve North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the
United States.
North Korea pulled out of the six-way talks in April 2009 to protest a U.N.
Security Council condemnation of a rocket launch it conducted the same month.
It added to the tension the following month by detonating a nuclear device for
the second time.
North Korea held talks with the United States last month, during which the two
sides reached ''common understandings'' on the need to resume the six-way
talks, but failed to work out specifics for their resumption.
Asked about North Korea's recent proposal to hold talks on a peace treaty that
would replace the armistice that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War, Yu said the
North should first return to the six-way talks.
''Isn't it in right order (for North Korea) to come to the six-way talks first
and show its determination on its denuclearization and then propose such talks
(on a peace treaty)?'' he said.
Touching on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the
1970s and 1980s, Yu said South Korea is willing to offer whatever support it
can for the resolution of the issue.
He added North Korea should not use the issue of Japanese abductees to delay
the holding of negotiations at the six-way talks on its denuclearization.
The abduction issue remains a major obstacle preventing Japan and North Korea
from establishing diplomatic ties. Negotiations between the two countries to
resolve the issue have stalled.
==Kyodo
