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Japan Welcomes South Korean Aid Proposal to North

Posted on: Wednesday, 13 July 2005, 03:00 CDT

Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

Tokyo, 13 July: Japan hailed South Korea's energy aid offer to North Korea, disclosed in Seoul Tuesday [12 July], but said there should be more discussions regarding the preconditions for the aid.

"We basically welcome the proposal for it could draw a concession from the North," a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity. "South Korea, the United States and Japan need to discuss how to readjust conditions for the (energy) aid."

South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in a nationally televised announcement that his country will transmit 2m kW of electricity to North Korea annually if Pyongyang agrees to dismantle the nuclear programme at a new round of six-way talks to be held in late July.

Chung presented the proposal to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during a meeting in Pyongyang last month but details were not previously made available.

Japan proposed North Korea freeze all of its nuclear arms programmes, disclose nuclear-related information and verify the freeze as a set of conditions for its participation in helping to provide energy aid to the communist state during the last round of nuclear disarmament talks in June last year.

Tokyo is scheduled to hear from the Seoul government about details of Tuesday's proposal at a meeting of chief delegates to South Korea, Japan and the United States, set to open in Seoul Thursday.

Japanese newspapers expressed concern about what they call South Korea's bid to take the initiative in settling the dispute over Pyongyang's nuclear arms ambitions.

Asahi Shimbun said Chung's "important proposal" looked like Seoul was intent on seizing the initiative in the upcoming six-party talks.

North Korea may ignore the offer and refuse to give up its nuclear programme, while South Korea runs the risk of being criticized for making a unilateral decision that hurts the joint steps of "dialogue and pressure" taken by the six parties, added the paper.

Mainichi Shimbun said Seoul's energy package sparked immediate opposition in some parts of the US and Japan.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun claimed the trilateral coordination involving South Korea, the US and Japan is being tested by discrepancies in the countries' positions towards the talks.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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