Japan, S. Korea to work for restart of FTA talks, cooperate on North

TOKYO, Feb. 17 Kyodo - Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung Hwan agreed Wednesday that the two countries will work toward reviving negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement, which have been stalled since 2004, and continue to cooperate in seeking North Korea's ''concrete actions'' for denuclearization.
Maehara and Kim, who met in Tokyo for their fourth official dialogue, told a joint press conference that they shared the view that progress should be made first in inter-Korean dialogue before the six-party talks and other bilateral meetings are held to urge the North to abandon its nuclear programs.
Acknowledging that working-level preliminary military talks between Seoul and Pyongyang ended without agreement last week, Kim said South Korea is ready to talk with North Korea if it comes back to the negotiating table.
The preliminary talks were the first bilateral dialogue since North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island in November. The two sides failed to even set a date for the next round of talks.
Maehara and Kim also said they agreed that the North's uranium enrichment program revealed last November should be taken up at the U.N. Security Council.
The six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the North involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. They have been stalled since December 2008.
On FTA talks, the two countries agreed to hold the second round of director-general level talks in April to prepare for the restart of negotiations that have been deadlocked due to differences over potential tariff cuts on farm and industrial products.
Japan and South Korea held the first director-general level talks last September under a strong political initiative to reopen the FTA negotiations. The bilateral FTA talks were launched in December 2003 but have been suspended since November 2004.
South Korean manufacturers are wary of a further increase in auto and electronic component imports from Japan, while the heavily protected Japanese agricultural sector is concerned about cheaper farm imports from South Korea.
Maehara, meanwhile, explained to Kim Japan's basic position on a territorial dispute with Russia over four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, which are claimed by Japan, a Japanese official said.
Moscow has been calling for investment by countries such as South Korea and China in projects to develop the disputed islands, but Tokyo opposes such business activities by third countries as they would bolster Russia's control of the islands and complicate the issue.
Turning to bilateral relations, Maehara said Japan will work toward the early transfer of Korean archives that were taken to Japan during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, which was promised by Prime Minister Naoto Kan last August ahead of the centenary of Japan's annexation of the peninsula.
Kim said he urged Tokyo to achieve progress on the issue of whether to grant local suffrage to permanent foreign residents in Japan, including ethnic Koreans. Maehara told Kim there are various opinions in Japan regarding the matter and that more discussions should take place, the official said.
Maehara also expressed hope that the Japanese education ministry's screening of history textbooks in the spring ''would not adversely affect the entirety of bilateral relations,'' the official said.
Reference to Japan's claim over South Korean-controlled islets in the Sea of Japan, which are known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, introduced in junior high school curriculum guidelines in 2008 has caused outrage in Seoul, rattling bilateral relations.
The textbook review will be conducted based on the guidelines. The Japanese foreign minister conveyed to Kim Tokyo's claim of sovereignty over the islets, the official said.
Prior to his meeting with Maehara, Kim held talks with Kan at the premier's office.
Kan expressed his eagerness to boost bilateral relations in a wide range of areas and told Kim that he is looking forward to meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in Japan later this year during trilateral summit talks involving the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Kan and Kim also agreed on the importance of signing a bilateral FTA and to strengthen cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States in seeking the denuclearization of North Korea, the ministry said.
Kim told the news conference that he had asked Kan to make an early visit to South Korea.