Seoul: Nuclear talks should become security forum
This was proposed by Ban Ki-moon, South Korean foreign affairs minister. The forum would seek to solve problems between north-east Asian countries.
Seoul (AsiaNews/Scmp) South Korea has proposed turning the six-party talks into a permanent forum to resolve tensions and problems of countries in north-east Asia. The South Korean foreign affairs minister, Ban Ki-moon (in the photo, left) said in an interview, that the six countries, which so far have worked for North Korea's nuclear disarmament, should discuss a long-term security plan. "The six-party talks should evolve to a higher level, that is, a consultative organism for security in the area," he said.
However, Ban said the first aim was to improve links between states in the region. The minister recalled that bilateral links between South Korea and Japan have gone downhill because of the visits by important political figures to the Yasukuni shrine, where some war criminals are honoured. The South Korean President, Roh Moo-hyun, cancelled a visit to Japan after the Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine.
Seoul is also indignant about statements made by the Japanese foreign affairs minister, Taro Aso, to the effect that Koreans "freely" chose to take on Japanese names during the Japanese colonial period. "Japan should behave better to obtain the respect and trust of neighbouring countries like China and Korea. We hope the Japanese will judge their past history adequately, and we hope they will adopt a more flexible foreign policy to be able to negotiate with neighbouring countries."
Other than the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia, and Japan are also in the six-party talks. Pyongyang left the six-party talks in November in protest against US economic sanctions, saying these sanctions were a legalized crime of a state against the poor North Korean economy. The date of the next meeting has not yet been fixed, but Ban said he was optimistic about it and thought that soon important developments would take place.
Some analysts have criticized at the absence of regular meetings and official discussions on security matters in a time of strong tension because of the growth of China and the militarisation of Japan.
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