By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The leaders of South Korea, Japan and China renewed their efforts Saturday to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear program in return for political and economic incentives.
The move comes as President Lee Myung-bak is seeking global support for his "grand bargain" initiative on the North's denuclearization.
President Lee, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also discussed ways to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between their countries to facilitate cooperation on regional and global issues.
"Now is a good time for North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, and there will be good results if we can offer a proposal for a one-step solution to the nuclear issue and conditions for such a deal," President Lee said in a joint conference held at the end of the tripartite summit in Beijing.
Wen and Hatoyama evaluated Lee's efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and called for an early resumption of the stalled six-way disarmament talks on the North's nuclear program.
The three countries will remain committed to dialogue and consultation, and continue to work through peaceful means to pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the leaders said in a joint statement.
"We will make joint efforts with other parties for an early resumption of the six-party talks, so as to safeguard peace and stability in Northeast Asia, and thereby to build an Asia of peace, harmony, openness and prosperity," the statement said.
North Korea has been boycotting the multinational denuclearization talks also involving the United States and Russia following U.N. condemnation of its launch of a long-range rocket.
Observers say the communist regime may rejoin the talks depending on the outcome of anticipated bilateral talks with the United States.
The leaders agreed to reinforce their cooperation in regional and international meetings, such as ASEAN and the G20 economic summit.
"We will make full use of the highly complementary factors and great potential of the three economies and bring to higher levels our cooperation in key areas such as finance, investment, logistics, intellectual property, customs, energy conservation, environmental protection and circular economy," the statement said.
In a separate statement on sustainable development, the three leaders pledged joint efforts to fight climate change as they reaffirmed their "shared vision and responsibility for creating a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for the region and international community."
They agreed to work together to contribute to a successful conclusion at the Copenhagen Conference, including the establishment of an effective post-2012 international cooperation framework on climate change.