Japan offers support to S. Korea in dealing with sinking incident

GYEONGJU, South Korea, May 16 Kyodo -
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Sunday offered support to his South
Korean counterpart Yu Myung Hwan in handling the sinking of a South Korean
warship in March, while calling for ''restraint'' in dealing with a territorial
dispute over the South Korea-controlled islets called Takeshima in Japan.
On North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the two agreed that a resumption of the
stalled six-party denuclearization talks depends on the outcome of the ongoing
investigation into the ship's sinking, which they suspect was caused by North
Korea's attack, but affirmed that the framework is important for discussing the
issue, Okada said.
During the meeting held in South Korea on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign
ministers from Japan, China and South Korea, Okada and Yu also agreed to work
together to see a ''positive final agreement'' emerge from the ongoing
conference in New York to review the operation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty.
At the outset of their meeting, Okada said in relation to the warship sinking,
''We have deep respect for the stand of the South Korean government, which is
responding resolutely and calmly in a difficult situation.''
''We will spare no effort in offering necessary cooperation to South Korea,''
he added.
His remarks came ahead of the expected announcement of the outcome of the
investigation, which is likely to be around Thursday. The investigation is
being conducted by South Korea and experts from the United States and other
countries.
South Korea has said that determining the cause of the incident must come
before a resumption of the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's
nuclear ambitions. The multilateral framework brings together the two Koreas,
China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
If North Korea's involvement becomes clear, or there are very strong suspicions
that Pyongyang is involved, then South Korea may seek to have sanctions imposed
on the North by raising the issue at the U.N. Security Council.
North Korea has denied involvement in the incident, which occurred near the
South's western sea border with the North on March 26 and killed 46 sailors.
On the issue of Takeshima, which Koreans know as Dokdo, Okada said to reporters
he told Yu that he wants South Korea to be ''cautious'' and ''restrained'' in
handling the matter.
The two countries have long been at odds over the sovereignty of the islets. In
April, Tokyo lodged a protest with Seoul after a South Korean
government-affiliated research institute announced it will conduct a geological
survey in the area around the two small uninhabited islets in the Sea of Japan.
But Okada and Yu also agreed that they should make efforts to ensure that the
issue does not sour bilateral ties. This year is seen as historically sensitive
as it marks a century since Japan's annexation of the Korean Peninsula in 1910.
On the economic front, Okada and the South Korean foreign affairs and trade
minister agreed to cooperate closely over the resumption of stalled
negotiations on a free trade accord.
The two countries launched talks for an economic partnership agreement in 2003
but they soon hit a snag over such issues such as tariff reduction. In 2004,
they broke off the negotiations.
After the bilateral meeting, Okada, along with Yu and Chinese Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi, visited the Bulguksa Temple, a world heritage site, in the
southern South Korean city of Gyeongju.
Yu came up with the idea in hopes of strengthening the personal relationships
between the three ministers, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry official.
==Kyodo