S. Korea, China and Japan hold three-way summit in Tokyo

By Lim Chang-won Posted : May 9, 2018, 09:17 Updated : May 9, 2018, 10:23

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited held talks with the prime ministers of Japan and China Wednesday as a flurry of diplomacy gained momentum this week to open a new era of rapprochement and peace in Northeast Asia ahead of a monumental summit between U.S. and North Korean leaders.

The trip marked the resumption of three-way summit diplomacy that has been stalled since late 2015 due to territorial and historical disputes. It was Moon's first visit to Japan since December 2011.

At talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, South Korea hopes to work on a joint statement supporting the outcome of the April 27 inter-Korean summit. Moon has said a thaw between Japan and North Korea would contribute to lasting peace in Northeast Asia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the northern Chinese city of Dalian and vowed to abandon the North's nuclear program if relevant parties drop "hostile" policies against Pyongyang, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"As long as relevant parties abolish their hostile policies and remove security threats against the DPRK (North Korea), there is no need for the DPRK to be a nuclear state and denuclearization can be realized," Kim was quoted as saying.

However, the North's leader called for "phased and synchronous measures in a responsible manner" to achieve denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula, revealing differences with U.S. President Donald Trump who wants quick and complete steps.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington has no interest in following a step-by-step process which, under past administrations, failed to end the North's nuclear ambitions.

"We're not going to relieve sanctions until such time as we achieved our objectives," Pompeo told reporters before leaving for North Korea. "We are not going to do this in small increments, where the world is essentially coerced into relieving economic pressure. That won't lead to the outcome that I know Kim Jong-un wants and I know President Trump is demanding."

"We've continued to develop both administratively and sort of begin to put some outlines around the substance of the agenda for the summit," Pompeo said. "And today we're hoping to nail some of those down ... to put in place a framework for a successful summit between the two presidents."

The U.S.  official cited a set of conditions that will give Pyongyang an opportunity to have a "historic, big change" in relations with Washington in return for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.

Hours after his meeting with Kim, Xi held a telephone conversation with Trump and agreed to keep sanctions on North Korea until the regime "permanently" dismantles its nuclear program, the White House said.
 
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