Korean ministers to discuss nuclear issue in Jakarta

Korean ministers to discuss nuclear issue in Jakarta

Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Seoul

South Korean Foreign Minister Ki Moon-ban said here Thursday
that he hoped to meet his North Korean counterpart during the
upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in Jakarta to discuss
the nuclear issue.

"I am willing to meet him (North Korean Foreign Minister) in
Jakarta, if he is also willing to meet with me.

"It is not yet decided. But in 2003, when the foreign minister
of North Korea attended the ARF meeting, we had a South and North
Korean foreign ministers' meeting. Based on this, we hope to have
a South Korean-North Korean foreign ministers' meeting," Ki told
The Jakarta Post in Seoul on the sidelines of an international
conference.

Minister Ki delivered his keynote speech during the two-day
conference in which he admitted that the resolution of the North
Korean nuclear issue remained the most pressing task for his
government. The conference's theme was "Democracy in Asia, Europe
and the World: Toward a Universal Definition."

The minister's comment came as South and North Korean
delegations kicked off separate rounds of military and economic
talks on Thursday aimed at easing tensions on the world's last
Cold War frontier between North and South Korea.

Ki said the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue was a
process that would require a great deal of patience and serious
discussion.

"We must convince North Korea that the pursuit of nuclear
programs will in no way enhance North Korea's security and that
the only way for North Korea to secure economic prosperity is by
giving up its nuclear programs," Ki said in his speech.

Southeast Asia, according to Ki, had an important role to play
in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Though two-rounds of six-party talks were held in Beijing in
February, no substantial progress has been made on the nuclear
issue except that those involved agreed to meet again by the end
of this month.

Ki acknowledged that the ARF had served as a forum which
allowed the discussion of the region's problems, including the
North Korean nuclear issue.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda visited
Pyongyang and Seoul recently to persuade North Korean Foreign
Minister Paeng Nam-sam to attend the ARF meeting in Jakarta.

Indonesia is the current chairman of both the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ARF.

It is widely expected that the South and North Korean foreign
ministers will discuss the nuclear question and other security
issues on the Korean Peninsula.

Ki also said that there was a need to establish a regional
grouping in Northeast Asia like the European Union (EU) in
Europe.

We have high hopes that a union of peace and prosperity
modeled on the European Union can be realized in Northeast Asia
in the not-so-distant future. In Europe, we see the future of
East Asia, Ki told the participants at the conference.

The conference, which was opened on Thursday and is being
attended by 30 scholars from Asia and Europe as well as 50 local
academics, is jointly organized by the Singapore-based Asia-
Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the Korean Association of
International Studies (KAIS).