Japan, U.S., S. Korea to hold talks Wed. on warship sinking+

TOKYO, May 25 Kyodo -
Japan, the United States and South Korea will hold talks Wednesday in Seoul to
compile measures to address the deadly sinking of a South Korean naval ship
believed caused by a North Korean torpedo attack, Japanese government officials
said Tuesday.
In their first trilateral meeting over the incident, director general-level
officials are expected to coordinate their policies on additional sanctions
against North Korea after agreeing that the sinking was ''a military
provocation,'' Japanese and South Korean diplomatic sources said.
An international investigation concluded last week that a torpedo fired by a
North Korean submarine caused the March 26 sinking in the Yellow Sea, which
killed 46 sailors.
They are also likely to strongly condemn North Korea for dismissing the
accusation as a ''conspiratorial farce'' and confirm efforts to put
international pressure on Pyongyang, according to the sources.
The three countries are also expected to discuss referring the incident to the
U.N. Security Council, and especially seeking support from China, a traditional
ally of North Korea and permanent member of the council with veto power.
Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and
Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for
East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Wi Sung Lac, South Korea's chief nuclear
negotiator, are scheduled to attend the meeting.
Japan and the United States have already expressed their readiness to support
South Korea if it takes the sinking case to the United Nation.
Japan, which is currently a nonpermanent Security Council member, is likely to
back South Korea's move once it submits a call for joint action against the
North, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said at a news conference.
''This is a South Korean issue, so it won't be a joint proposal'' in the
beginning, Hirano said.
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said Monday that his government will bring
North Korea to the Security Council over the sinking near the sea border with
the North.
South Korea could by itself table a U.N. resolution if the 15-nation council
invites its participation, according to Japanese Foreign Ministry officials.
On Monday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon also said he is confident that
the Security Council will fulfill ''its responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security'' and ''will take measures appropriate to the
gravity of the situation.''
In addition to working closely with South Korea and the United States, Japan is
exploring the possibility of imposing additional sanctions of its own on North
Korea.
Japan is considering strengthening financial sanctions, such as lowering the
amount of money that may be remitted to the North without reporting to the
government from the current 10 million yen threshold, ruling party lawmakers
said.
''We have to consider sanctions in order to show our stance,'' Finance Minister
Naoto Kan said at a news conference.
But Kan also said he is not clear to what extent such fresh economic sanctions
will have an impact on North Korea.
Transport minister Seiji Maehara, meanwhile, said the government is considering
expanding the scope of bans on port calls by North Korean vessels in Japan.
The government is considering more actively prohibiting port calls also by
vessels that have past records of stopping at North Korean ports and vessels
chartered by North Korean entities.
==Kyodo