Japanese Leaders Praise Inter-Korean Summit AccordJapanese leaders Thursday praised the joint declaration signed in Pyongyang Wednesday by Kim Jong Il, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung."It was a historic achievement on which our government and people congratulate and welcome," Mori said in an election campaign speech in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, southeast of Tokyo. Mori pledged to seek the Group of Eight (G-8) major nations' support for Korean reunification when Japan hosts the group's July 21-23 summit in Okinawa. "At the G-8 summit, we'd like to call for creating a framework of full support for Korean reunification and the agreement by the two leaders, and make it an important issue," Mori said. The Japanese prime minister expressed the hope that the achievements of the first-ever inter-Korean summit would lead to eased tension on the Korean Peninsula and give positive impetus to stalled talks between Japan and the DPRK on establishing diplomatic ties. Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, meanwhile, issued a statement welcoming the inter-Korean summit declaration as being " historic and epoch-making." The accord has "significant meaning" for the two sides on the Korean Peninsula and "has proved the deepening trust and understanding" between their leaders, Kono said. "We strongly hope the North-South dialogue will continue and progress in easing tension on the Korean Peninsula on the basis of this achievement; and we expect such moves will positively affect normalization negotiations" between Japan and the DPRK, Kono added. The accord, signed on the second day of Kim Dae-jung's three- day visit to Pyongyang, calls for reconciliation and eventual national unification. |
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