China, Japan, S. Korea meet for trilateral summit, focus on N. Korea+

JEJU, South Korea, May 29 Kyodo -
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met Saturday on South Korea's Jeju
Island for a two-day summit, with how to respond to North Korea's recent
defiance high on the agenda.
The annual trilateral meeting comes at a time of rising tensions on the Korean
Peninsula as South Korea concluded last week, after a multinational
investigation, that a North Korean submarine had fired a torpedo that sank one
of its naval vessels in March, killing 46 sailors.
At the start of the summit, the delegates offered silent prayers to mourn the
victims, following a proposal from Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Hatoyama said it is crucial for the three countries to take concerted action
over the matter.
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, chair of the summit, is seeking to take
the sinking of the 1,200-ton Cheonan to the U.N. Security Council.
Attention is focused on whether Lee will be able to find common ground with
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Hatoyama on steps to be taken against North
Korea.
Hatoyama has already expressed his readiness to support raising the issue at
the Security Council and take punitive action against North Korea in
cooperation with South Korea and the United States.
China has yet to blame the North for the tragedy -- South Korea's worst naval
loss since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
China's support is seen as essential for any international punitive action
against the North as it is not only Pyongyang's sole major ally, but also one
of the Security Council's five veto-wielding members.
North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement in the sinking and warned of an
''all-out war'' if it is hit with retaliation and sanctions.
Ahead of the summit, Hatoyama held talks with Lee, exchanging views on the
aftermath of the incident on March 26 in the Yellow Sea near the disputed
maritime border with North Korea.
On the first day of the summit, the leaders mainly discussed ongoing
cooperation between the three countries, including in the fields of the
environment, culture, technology and disaster prevention, but not issues
related to the recent instability on the divided Korean Peninsula, according to
Japanese government officials.
The officials said the sinking of the Cheonan will be the major topic on Sunday.
In addition, China, Japan and South Korea, which is co-chair of this year's
Group of 20 summit process, discussed how to further promote trade between the
three countries.
Hatoyama, Lee and Wen discussed an envisaged trilateral free trade agreement
between the three countries, which currently account for around 16 percent of
global gross domestic product, the officials said.
In early May, the three countries began a joint study involving the private
sector, government and academia as a step toward launching government-level
negotiations on a trilateral FTA.
The leaders agreed Saturday that the countries will try to put together all the
results of the study by 2012, the officials said, adding that they will aim to
strike a basic deal on a trilateral investment treaty by this summer.
It is the third time that China, Japan and South Korea have held a regular
trilateral summit not on the sidelines of an international conference.
On Sunday, the three leaders are slated to sign a document on the establishment
of a permanent secretariat in South Korea in the hope of further facilitating
their regional cooperation.
The three Asian powers agreed in 2008 to hold trilateral meetings every year in
their countries in rotation.
==Kyodo
2010-05-29 23:32:52