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Japanese PM Hails Japan-DPRK Foreign Ministers Meeting
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Thursday lauded Wednesday's meeting between the foreign ministers of Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), describing the first-ever meeting as "very significant."
"The fact that the foreign ministers met is very significant," Mori told reporters at his official residence.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and his DPRK counterpart, Paek Nam Sun, held talks in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum on security issues.
Kono and Paek agreed at the meeting to hold a postponed second round of talks on normalizing ties between the two countries in Tokyo on August 21-25, and pledged joint efforts to improve bilateral relations.
Speaking at a press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa said Wednesday's meeting yielded significant results.
It was the first meeting between Japan and the DPRK at the foreign minister's level, so it was significant in itself, the top government spokesman said.
"Although there was a limitation in time and the ministers could not go into individual matters, the meeting mapped out a direction for two major issues, reducing tension on the Korean Peninsula and improving relations" between Japan and the DPRK, Nakagawa said.
Negotiators from Japan and the DPRK met in April in Pyongyang to resume normalization talks which collapsed in 1992, but the second round, set for late May, was postponed.
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