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S. Korea, Japan, US Agree to Develop Ties With DPRK
South Korea, the United States and Japan on Wednesday agreed to develop their separate ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The agreement was reached at a meeting here between South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Lee Joung-binn, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono.
At the tripartite meeting, the three sides spoke highly of the outcome of Albright's three-day trip to Pyongyang and agreed to coordinate their future policies toward the DPRK based on the outcome of the inter-Korean summit and Albright's negotiations with the DPRK.
The meeting focused on efforts to improve the three sides' relations with the DPRK based on the report by Albright that major progress has been made on issues of the DPRK's program of missile development.
The meeting comes after the visit to the DPRK by Albright, who arrived here from Pyongyang Wednesday morning.
At a joint news conference following the meeting, Lee said the three parties agreed that reconciliation and the reduction of tension on the Korean Peninsula is beneficial to stability and peace in Northeast Asia and helps strengthen international efforts for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
"To that end, the three allies have agreed to work together in the development of ties between North Korea (DPRK) and the United States and North Korea and Japan," Lee said.
Lee emphasized that the improvement in Pyongyang's relations with Washington and Tokyo will be helpful for the development of inter-Korean relations and vice versa.
Meanwhile, Albright said the Washington-Pyongyang ties should be developed step by step for peace in the region.
She did not elaborate on her discussions in Pyongyang.
On U.S. President Bill Clinton's possible visit to the DPRK, Albright said the issue will be settled after she reports to Clinton.
Hailing the significance of Albright's visit, Kono said at the news conference that the Washington-Pyongyang talks will have a good influence on the ties between Pyongyang and Tokyo.
The Japanese minister said Japan will "actively strengthen" its next round of normalization talks with the DPRK and seek a gradual improvement of ties between the two countries on the basis of the tripartite discussions.
A new round of normalization talks between the DPRK and Japan scheduled for October 30-31 in Beijing is expected to be a turning point for DPRK-Japanese ties as Albright said her visit to Pyongyang has made progress on issues of common concern, said observers.
Before the tripartite meeting, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung met Albright and Kono separately.
President Kim stressed to Albright that the three-way cooperation will have to be upgraded to consolidate peace on the Korean Peninsula.
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