Kyodo news summary -2-

TOKYO, June 3 Kyodo

---------- Japan, China, S. Korea begin talks on N. Korea, other issues

JEJU, South Korea - Foreign ministers from Japan, China and South Korea met Sunday on South Korea's Jeju Island to discuss the stalemate in the North Korean nuclear standoff and other issues.

The trilateral meeting of Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Song Min Soon comes at a time when there appears to be no progress on North Korea's commitment to take initial steps toward denuclearization in line with a six-party accord.

---------- 3 dead, 200 hurt in southwest China earthquake, Xinhua say

BEIJING - At least three people died and more than 200 were injured when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit China's southwestern Yunnan Province early Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Some houses collapsed, roads were severely damaged and communications water works and power supplies have been affected, Xinhua said.

---------- Indonesia seeks E. Asian help to fight piracy in Malacca Strait

SINGAPORE - Indonesia's defense minister urged China, Japan and South Korea on Sunday to provide technical assistance to help the Indonesian navy boost its capacity to fight piracy in the Strait of Malacca.

''We would like to appeal to China, Japan and South Korea to provide technical assistance on an ASEAN-wide basis as well as on a bilateral basis to the littoral states,'' Juwono Sudarsono said at an Asian security conference.

---------- Aso, Song meet amid protest over ship's entry into Japan waters

JEJU, South Korea - Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his South Korean counterpart Song Min Soon met Sunday on South Korea's Jeju Island on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting with their Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.

Their meeting comes shortly after Tokyo issued a protest to Seoul over a South Korean marine research vessel's activities in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

---------- 300 police officers injured in clashes with G-8 protesters in Germany

BERLIN - A total of 304 police officers were injured in clashes Saturday in the northern German port city of Rostock with protesters against the Group of Eight summit this week in Germany, local police said Sunday.

Twenty-seven of them were seriously injured, the police said.

---------- Abe ready to send suspected N. Korean refugees to S. Korea

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed readiness Sunday to send four people believed to be refugees from North Korea to South Korea in line with their hopes, while South Korea indicated it is ready to accept them.

''I pledge to deal with the issue from the humanitarian viewpoint,'' Abe said in a speech on a street in Tokyo, referring to the suspected North Korean refugees, discovered in a small boat off northern Japan on Saturday.

---------- 4 suspected N. Korea refugees say intended to go to Niigata

AOMORI, Japan - Four people believed to have come from North Korea have told police after being found Saturday on a boat at a port in Aomori Prefecture that they actually intended to go to the city of Niigata, which the North Korean cargo-passenger ferry Mangyongbong-92 serves, police sources said Sunday.

The four had initially tried to go to South Korea but gave up the plan due to tight security and instead decided to head for Niigata, which is well known as a port city to which the North Korean ferry travels, the sources said.

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