The two ministers also pledged to jointly act against those found to be accountable for the incident, ministry officials said.
“The Japanese foreign minister expressed Japan’s condolences again for the sinking of the Cheonan, and also reaffirmed support for South Korea’s efforts for an objective and scientific investigation,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun following the meeting.
Yu and Okada sat down for a one-on-one as part of a two-day meeting between the foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China.
Yu held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi on Saturday, which was followed by a trilateral meeting of the three ministers.
 |
| Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan (second from right) poses with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi (right) and Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada yesterday during their visit to Bulguk Temple in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. (Yonhap News) |
Seoul has indicated that it believes North Korea to be responsible for the incident, although the results of the investigation are still pending.
During the foreign ministerial talks, South Korea reportedly enlisted support from Japan and China who are both regional partners and members of the six-way talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Seoul has indicated that it would not attend the six-party dialogue until the Cheonan investigation has been wrapped up.
Beijing appeared to hold a different stance. Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier this month met North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for a summit during which the two sides discussed the six-way talks.
During their three-way talks on Saturday, the three ministers held discussions related to the Cheonan.
They also talked of ways to cement their trilateral relations, including setting up a permanent secretariat on regional cooperation in Seoul.
The presidents of the three nations are to meet on South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju during May 29-30 to intensify the three-way cooperation and discuss regional issues.
Regarding bilateral ties, the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers yesterday said they would take steps to further cement the relationship between the two countries.
“The Japanese side stressed the importance of a Korea-Japan free trade agreement for building new bilateral relations and expressed hope for an early start of negotiations on the trade deal,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman.
The two ministers said history should not undermine bilateral ties, but Yu stressed to his Japanese counterpart South Korea’s stance on Japan’s claims to sovereignty over Dokdo islets.
Both Yu and Okada agreed that they would work together so that the territorial issue would not harm the ties between the two countries.
Tokyo will be hosting the next round of three-way talks.
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기