Japan to raise N.Korea nuclear issue at G8-sherpa

By Masayuki Kitano

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will raise the issue of NorthKorea’s nuclear arms development at next week’s Group of Eightsummit, Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka said on Monday.

North Korea, which said in February it had nuclear weapons,has said it may return to stalled six-party talks on itsnuclear programs as early as July but has not set a date fordoing so.

“The present situation is very worrisome and it is a matterof course that this issue will be discussed,” said Yabunaka,who is Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s specialrepresentative, or sherpa, for the summit of industrializednations.

The leaders of the G8 countries — Britain, Canada, France,Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia — are tomeet in Gleneagles, Scotland, from July 6-8.

“Japan of course cannot tolerate North Korea’s nucleardevelopment. Our basic thinking is that six-way talks should beresumed quickly to resolve this issue,” Yabunaka said in aninterview.

Before assuming his current post in January, Yabunakaheaded the ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau andserved as Japan’s chief negotiator at the six-way talks.

The United States, North and South Korea, China, Japan andRussia have held three rounds of inconclusive talks in Beijing,with the last session held in June last year.

AID FOR AFRICA

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who chairs this year’sG8, has put climate change and helping Africa at the top of thesummit’s agenda.

G8 finance ministers clinched a deal on June 11 to wipe outmore than $40 billion of impoverished nations’ debts tomultilateral lenders in a drive to help free Africa from hungerand disease.

Despite the debt relief agreement, Yabunaka said loans, andnot just grants, had a role to play in development aid.

“If there is a perception that loans are bad, I think thatwould be wrong,” he said.

“There is the example of Asia’s success. In Asia, the bulkof infrastructure projects have been conducted with loans andthey are working well.”

Japan, once the world’s top donor but now thesecond-largest, has cut its official development assistancebudget for six straight years amid efforts to curb its publicdebt.

But Koizumi, who announced in April that Japan would doubleaid to Africa over the next three years, said this month thatTokyo should consider boosting its foreign aid spending for thefirst time since 1999.

Apart from the G8, leaders of China, India, Brazil, SouthAfrica and Mexico will also attend the summit.

The wider discussions are likely to cover issues related tothe world economy as a whole, and will not focus solely onChina’s currency, Yabunaka said.

“There are various issues with the world economy as awhole, including high oil prices. Including such energy-relatedissues we will have discussions on various themes facing theworld economy,” he said.

“I think there will be various discussions … but I don’tthink it will be focused on the yuan,” Yabunaka added.

China’s trading partners have pressured Beijing to allowthe yuan to appreciate, saying the policy of pegging it around8.28 to the dollar undervalues it and gives Chinese exportersan unfair advantage on international markets.

Beijing has said it will gradually make the yuan moreflexible according to its own timetable and needs.