Japanese, S. Korean foreign ministers unlikely to meet in Malaysia

TOKYO, Dec. 7 Kyodo

Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers are not likely to have a meeting on the sidelines of the inaugural East Asia Summit scheduled to open in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Japanese Foreign Ministry sources said Tuesday.

''There is no need to have the meeting, unless South Korea says it wants to,'' a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, indicating that the two have not been working to set the date.

Last Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon criticized Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso for saying that he has never heard of any other countries, except for China and South Korea, making critical statements about Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.

The Japanese government apparently felt that having the ministerial meeting at this point may actually worsen the relations. But Japan's ties with China and South Korea are likely to be even more strained in the near future, as halting diplomatic exchanges will also mean losing opportunities to mend the relations, observers said.

China indicated earlier that it is unwilling to hold meetings with Koizumi or Aso during the summit in Malaysia.

Ban said South Korea has not discussed a summit meeting with Japan, leaving a possibility for a ministerial meeting to be held.

Koizumi's repeated visits to the shrine, including one made Oct. 17, have sparked anger from South Korea and China, which suffered from Japan's colonial aggression before and during World War II.

China and South Korea regard the Shinto shrine that honors World War II war criminals along with Japan's war dead as a symbol of Japan's unrepentant militarism.

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