(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Oct. 12)

Greater cooperation

The leaders of South Korea, China and Japan met last Saturday for a three-way summit.

While the agenda included economic cooperation and the development of an
East Asian community, the most pressing item was finding a way to get North Korea
to return to the six-party talks.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who visited Pyongyang earlier month, used the
occasion to brief South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama on the results of his visit, including his meeting with
North Korea's Kim Jong-il.
Wen told the joint press conference that North Korea showed flexibility on the
issue of the six-party talks and urged the international community to seize the
opportunity and make the most of it.
In Beijing, Lee sought China's support for his "grand bargain" proposal, unveiled
during his trip to the United Nations last month.
The plan, which seeks to irreversibly dismantle North Korea's nuclear facilities
in exchange for a package of economic incentives to be put together by five other
parties in the six-nation talks in a "one-shot" deal, rather than the phased
approach previously taken by the six-party process, was met with a rather cool
response by the United States.
Lee similarly sought Japan's support for his proposal for North Korean
denuclearization during a summit meeting with Hatoyama in Seoul the previous day.
Wen and Hatoyama expressed support for the "grand bargain" proposal. Wen said
China would also actively take part in discussions on Lee's proposal and Hatoyama
said, after Friday's bilateral summit, that the proposal was a "correct" way to
dismantle North Korea's nuclear program.
In a joint statement released after the three-way summit, the three leaders sad
they would "Push with other parties for an early resumption of the six-party
talks, so as to safeguard the peace and stability in Northeast Asia."
This show of unity among the three Northeast Asian neighbors will act as further
pressure on Pyongyang. Having China fully aboard in efforts to get Pyongyang back
to the negotiating table adds to the impetus, as North Korea relies heavily on
China for economic assistance.
Indeed, sharing the common goal of achieving a nuclear-free North Korea appears
to be bringing together three neighboring countries who often find it difficult
to work together - mostly due to deep-rooted hostilities.
With the new government in Tokyo taking a more progressive attitude toward
recognizing its recent history, particularly Japan's wartime aggression, the
doors are opening for even greater cooperation among the three countries.
(END)