Lee, Aso agree on closer cooperation over financial crisis

By Yoo Cheong-mo
BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese
Prime Minister Taro Aso on Friday agreed to cooperate more closely in combating
the global financial crisis and accelerating the denuclearization of North Korea
during their first summit talks in Beijing, Korean officials said.
Lee and Aso also agreed to push for the first of long-delayed tripartite summit
talks involving China before the end of this year to discuss closer policy
coordination on the global financial crisis, climate change and energy issues,
said the officials.
In addition, the two leaders shared the view that Seoul and Tokyo should speed up
bilateral cooperation to materialize the US$80 billion Asian monetary fund, which
was agreed upon during their meeting with leaders of China and 10 Southeast Asian
countries on Friday morning, they noted.
Both Lee and Aso are in the Chinese capital to attend the seventh summit of the
Asia-Europe Meeting, which was to kick off here Friday evening.
Since his inauguration in February, Lee met with Aso's predecessor, Yasuo Fukuda,
three times by early July, but the two countries' relations have since chilled
due to Japan's provocative claim to South Korean easternmost islets of Dokdo.
The first tripartite summit of South Korea, China and Japan was to take place in
September, but was put on hold due to a leadership change in Tokyo and the
outbreak of the South Korea-Japan conflict over Dokdo.
ycm@yna.co.kr
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