Hatoyama, Lee agree to boost cooperation over N. Korea+

JEJU, South Korea, May 29 Kyodo -
Japan and South Korea agreed Saturday to boost their cooperation in dealing
with North Korea amid escalating tension in the region following the deadly
sinking of a South Korean warship in March that is believed to have been
carried out by Pyongyang.
The agreement was reached during a bilateral meeting between Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak on the South
Korean island of Jeju, which was held prior to a two-day trilateral summit
involving the two leaders and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Earlier in the day, on his way to the trilateral summit, Hatoyama visited South
Korea's national cemetery in the central city of Daejeon to pay tribute to the
sailors.
Hatoyama and his wife Miyuki offered flowers at the cemetery in honor of the 46
sailors killed in the incident. South Korea concluded last week that a North
Korean submarine had fired a torpedo that sank the naval vessel on March 26 in
the Yellow Sea.
Hatoyama expressed Japan's commitment to dealing with the aftermath of the
sinking and restoring stability in the region, saying, ''I will support South
Korea from the bottom of my heart.''
He said Japan will assist Lee's efforts to address the tragedy in the U.N.
Security Council.
Hatoyama and Lee also reaffirmed the need for Japan, South Korea and the United
States to closely coordinate their approach to North Korea.
Lee thanked Hatoyama for visiting the cemetery in the morning and praised
Japan's quick decision to impose additional sanctions against North Korea,
including lowering the maximum amount of money that can be remitted to the
North without notifying the Japanese government to 3 million yen from 10
million yen.
Lee also expressed appreciation for Hatoyama's decision on Friday to keep most
of the operations of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station within Okinawa
Prefecture, according to Japanese government officials.
Lee took up the issue and said the right decision was made looking at the ''big
picture'' as the presence of U.S. forces is essential for the stability of
Northeast Asia, the officials said.
Bilateral ties between the two neighbors have markedly improved in recent
years, although that may not always be the case when it comes to territorial
rows and history-related issues.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan's 1910 annexation of the Korean
Peninsula.
With this in mind, Hatoyama said Japan needs to learn from the lessons of
history and ''regret what needs to be regretted.''
''I'd like to actively engage in establishing future-oriented ties for the next
100 years,'' the officials quoted Hatoyama as telling his counterpart.
Lee echoed Hatoyama's position, saying that Japan and South Korea stand a good
chance of fostering relations in many new areas when there is strong mutual
trust between their leaders, the officials said.
As part of that endeavor, Hatoyama and Lee agreed to move their ongoing
preliminary discussions on a bilateral free trade agreement to a higher level
for the resumption of formal negotiations, the officials said.
Japan and South Korea launched talks for an economic partnership agreement in
2003 but they soon hit a snag and broke down one year later.
The leaders also confirmed that Japan and South Korea will step up their
efforts to realize the early conclusion of a bilateral civil nuclear accord,
the officials said.
Hatoyama had earlier been expected to propose a new bilateral accord to enable
the two countries to share food, water, fuel and other supplies during
international peacekeeping operations, according to diplomatic sources. But he
did not make such a proposal during Saturday's talks.
The sources said earlier that Japan was hoping to launch working-level talks to
sign the so-called acquisition and cross-servicing agreement at an early date
once Hatoyama secures Lee's consent.
==Kyodo
2010-05-29 23:31:14