4TH LD: Fukuda, Lee agree to cooperate on N. Korea, Lee invites emperor

TOKYO, April 21 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING NEW INFO)

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak agreed Monday to cooperate in addressing the North Korean nuclear and abduction issues as well as expand bilateral people-to-people exchanges as part of efforts to elevate relations to a higher dimension.

Later in the day, Lee asked Emperor Akihito to visit South Korea, and the emperor thanked him for the invitation that was made during the president's meeting with him and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace, Imperial Household Agency officials said.

Fukuda and Lee, meeting for the second time since the latter took office in February, said in a joint press conference following their talks that they agreed on holding working-level consultations aimed at restarting negotiations on concluding a bilateral economic partnership agreement that have been suspended for more than three years.

The two leaders said they confirmed their intentions to enhance cooperation on other global topics such as tackling global warming and other environmental issues, energy security and development assistance to poor countries.

The meeting between Fukuda and Lee marks the resumption of ''shuttle diplomacy,'' or reciprocal visits between the top leaders of Japan and South Korea at least once a year, which had been suspended since 2005.

Fukuda said he and Lee were able to make ''a very good start in shuttle summit diplomacy,'' saying they agreed it is their job to raise the bilateral relationship to a ''matured partnership'' featuring closer-than-ever ties and cooperation on global issues.

The Japanese leader said he plans to visit South Korea in the latter half of this year as part of the ''shuttle diplomacy'' arrangement.

Lee touched briefly on the sensitive topic of history, saying there is a need for the two countries to ''face the past and move toward the future by sharing a vision'' and to reinforce cooperation for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world.

''In today's meeting, Prime Minister Fukuda and I shared the feeling that the two countries should build a relationship that is like a tree that is so deeply and solidly rooted in the earth that it would not budge even when a storm hits,'' Lee said.

On North Korea, Fukuda said the two leaders confirmed the need for the reclusive state to fully and accurately declare its nuclear activities in a prompt manner, as per an agreement in the six-party talks on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

Fukuda and Lee agreed to enhance close coordination, both bilaterally as well as trilaterally with the United States, in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, they said.

The South Korean president said he supports Japan's policy of seeking to resolve Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese citizens and the issues of its nuclear and missile development in a comprehensive manner while settling the unfortunate past in order to normalize relations with North Korea.

''Concerning the abduction issue, the humanitarian and human rights issue is important for both Japan and South Korea,'' Fukuda said. ''In today's meeting, the president said he would like to cooperate as much as possible in resolving the abduction issue.''

The Japanese government recognizes 17 of its nationals as having been abducted to North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s among whom five have been repatriated, while hundreds of South Koreans are estimated to have been taken forcibly to the North.

Meanwhile, in response to Lee's invitation, Emperor Akihito said the matter is for the government to consider and decide on, the agency officials said. Fukuda told reporters at his office in the evening, ''We will consider this matter henceforth.''

South Korea has extended invitations to the Japanese emperor to visit on numerous occasions since 1990, but such a trip has not yet been realized.

Concerning other issues in the summit talks, Lee said he asked Tokyo to proactively consider granting South Korean permanent residents of Japan the right to vote in local elections.

Fukuda responded that there are varying opinions in Japan on the issue but that he will continue to pay attention to deliberations in places such as parliament on the matter, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.

On the economic front, the two leaders decided to hold working-level preparatory talks in June to seek to resume stalled negotiations aimed at forging an EPA, according to a joint press release they issued.

The negotiations have been suspended since November 2004, after Tokyo rejected Seoul's demand that Japan further open up its market for agricultural products.

An EPA goes beyond a free trade agreement, which aims mainly at removing tariffs on goods and trade barriers for services, and also covers intellectual property rights and investment protection rules.

Just after their morning talks, business leaders of Japan and South Korea submitted a set of recommendations to Fukuda and Lee, asking them to create an environment so that the two countries will be able to restart the suspended EPA negotiations.