(LEAD) S. Korean FM heads to Japan for regional forum, talks on N. Korea

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead paras to highlight Yu's departure for Japan)
By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan embarked
Friday on a three-day trip to Japan, where he will hold bilateral talks with his
Japanese and Chinese counterparts on ways to bring North Korea back to nuclear
negotiations, as well as attend a regional forum of East Asian and Latin American
countries.
The South Korean minister will arrive in Tokyo later Friday for a meeting with
leaders of Keidanren, one of the most influential business associations in Japan.
The fourth Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation, involving 33 countries
from the two regions, will be held Saturday.
"We believe the forum will be an opportunity to further strengthen the
cooperative relations between South Korea and Latin America in various sectors,"
Kim Young-sun, a spokesman for the South Korean foreign ministry, told reporters.
The South Korean minister will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada
early Saturday to discuss various bilateral and international issues, including
their countries' joint efforts to resume six-nation talks on ending North Korea's
nuclear program, according to ministry officials.
In April, North Korea quit the nuclear talks that also involve the United States,
China and Russia, but told China's visiting Premier Wen Jiabao late last year
that it may return to the negotiation table depending on the outcome of its
bilateral talks with the U.S.
North Korea has yet to return to the nuclear talks despite a visit by a special
U.S. envoy for North Korea policy, Stephen Bosworth, to Pyongyang last month -- a
trip aimed at bringing the communist nation back to the six-way dialogue.
Pyongyang on Monday demanded the start of separate talks to formally end the
1950-53 Korean War before its return to the nuclear negotiations. Both Seoul and
Washington have rejected the demand, saying such talks will only be possible
after North Korea returns to the six-party negotiations and makes significant
progress toward denuclearization.
Yu will likely seek China's support for Seoul's position on the issue when he
meets his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on Sunday, according to ministry
officials.
A close ally of North Korea, China currently hosts the six-way talks on ridding
North Korea of its nuclear programs and also is a signatory to the 1953 Korean
armistice.
The South Korean minister is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his
counterpart from Panama, according to the Seoul ministry. He will return home
Sunday.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)

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