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Japan, South Korea discuss nuclear standoff
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Jul 27, 2006 South Korea and Japan made fresh efforts to restart stalled nuclear talks Thursday as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her North Korean counterpart headed for security talks here. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-Moon met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur. "As the international concerns over North Korea's missile firings have developed recently, it's important for the top diplomats of the two countries to have discussions," Ban told reporters at the start of the meeting. Japan's Aso said: "It's the right time to have the bilateral meeting in this way on the side of the ASEAN forum." Tokyo has taken the most hardline position against North Korea since the communist state test launched seven missiles that splashed into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on July 5. The UN Security Council adopted a Japan-sponsored motion condemning Pyongyang and imposed limited sanctions. Meanwhile South Korea, together with China, has led this week's push to resume the six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program, which derailed in November. Japan and its two Asian neighbors have also been locked in a diplomatic row over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a war shrine, territorial disputes and Japan's wartime record. Separately US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill suggested that the nuclear talks -- which group the two Koreas, China, Japan, the United States and Russia -- could be widened. "If the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name) wants to come, we will have six-party informal (talks)," Hill said late Wednesday. "If they don't we will have some kind of multilateral meeting to discuss security in Northeast Asia." One South Korean official suggested on Wednesday there could be a multilateral meeting which also groups Malaysia, Australia and Canada. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links
House expected to approve US-India nuclear energy bill
Washington (AFP) Jul 26, 2006 The US House of Representatives was expected late Wednesday to approve a controversial US-India civilian nuclear energy deal, which supporters said will be the cornerstone of a new strategic alliance between the two countries. |
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