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Japanese PM Holds Talks With South Korean, U.S. Presidents
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori Thursday held talks with visiting South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and U.S. President Bill Clinton separately on bilateral ties and regional issues of common concern.
One of the major topic of the talks was the upcoming first-ever summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea.
Kim told Mori that he will urge the DPRK to improve ties with Japan and the United States at the inter-Korea summit in Pyongyang next week, Japanese officials said.
The officials said Kim and Mori also confirmed the importance of cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States in dealing with the DPRK.
The inter-Korea summit was also a topic in Mori's talks with Clinton, held shortly after the Mori-Kim meeting.
Both Kim and Clinton were in Tokyo to attend the official funeral of the late Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who died last month after suffering a stroke.
In his meeting with Mori, Kim said he will tell DPRK leader Kim Jong Il that maintaining good relations with Japan, South Korea and the United States would benefit Pyongyang's goals of seeking security and revitalizing its economy, an official said.
Kim and Mori shared the hope that the historic unofficial visit to Beijing last week by the DPRK leader will give a positive impetus to the three-day summit starting next Monday, said the official.
On Japan's relations with the DPRK, Mori reiterated Tokyo's willingness to make progress in talks between Japan and the DPRK on normalizing diplomatic ties, and asked Kim to convey the message to the DPRK leader, the official said, adding that Kim had agreed to pass on the request.
On bilateral ties, Mori welcomed the recent progress in cultural exchanges, including cooperation between Japanese and South Korean universities, calling it the fruit of Kim's decision in 1998 to open South Korea's doors to Japanese popular culture.
Mori and Clinton, during their meeting, agreed to continue close consultations and policy coordination among Japan, South Korea and the United States toward the success of the inter-Korea summit.
Clinton called the inter-Korea talks extremely important, adding that it was important for the DPRK to normalize diplomatic relations with other countries, including South Korea.
Mori gave high credit to Clinton for working to grant China permanent normal-trade-relations (PNTR) status and for boosting the momentum for China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to Japanese officials.
Clinton called it an "economic and strategic" move, and stressed that it is important for China to become a constructive partner in the world community, they said.
Mori and Clinton also agreed to continue to work toward resolving pending bilateral issues, specifically the dispute over interconnection fees charged by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), and ongoing negotiations toward renewing a treaty on Japan's host-nation financial support for U.S. military bases, the officials said.
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