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South Korea says Japan failed to consult on UN move
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Jul 27, 2006 South Korea Thursday complained that the Japanese government had failed to consult Seoul on a tough UN move against North Korean missile tests, officials said. The complaint emerged when Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon met his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso at Asia's top security forum in Kuala Lumpur, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-Ho said. "We pointed out Japan's lack of prior consultations with South Korea," Choo said after the talks at the 26-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional forum. "When it comes to sanctions for Japan to take on North Korea, we said we hoped Japan should closely cooperate with South Korea." Tokyo broke with its historically pacifist stance after North Korea defiantly test-fired seven ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on July 5. Japan initially pushed to invoke the UN Charter's Chapter Seven -- which can authorize tough wide-ranging sanctions or even military action -- in its draft UN resolution, but stopped short after China protested. The UN Security Council later adopted a modified and toned-down resolution condemning and imposing weapons-related sanctions on North Korea. Japan's initial UN push, though unsuccessful, had surprised Seoul officials, who have sought rapprochement with North Korea since a 2000 inter-Korean peace summit. "The biggest victim of North Korea's missile tests is South Korea," Ban was quoted as telling Aso, citing the chilling inter-Korean ties after the tests. Seoul suspended food and fertilizer aid to North Korea and Pyongyang suspended cross-border family reunions in response. South Korea, Japan and China were Thursday pushing for a resumption of six-nation talks with Pyongyang over its nuclear programme, which stalled in November. The talks also involve Russia and the United States. The Ban-Aso talks addressed also bilateral tricky diplomatic issues, including Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a war shrine which have enraged China as well. "As to media reports about Koizumi's possible visit to Yasukuni, Minister Ban said he hoped Japan will exercise restraint in consideration of biblateral relations," Choo said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links
North Korea hits out at "imbecile" Rice ahead of ASEAN meeting
Seoul (AFP) Jul 25, 2006 North Korea has defended its missile launches ahead of an Asian security forum expected to focus on them, describing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a "political imbecile" for criticising the tests. |
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