Seoul Turns Down Tokyo’s Proposal for Bilateral Talks
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The Lee Myung-bak administration has rejected a proposal by Japan that the foreign ministers of the two countries have bilateral talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, slated for July 22-24 in Singapore.
``Seoul has no plan to hold a meeting of foreign ministers with Tokyo,'' Moon Tae-young, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told reporters, Thursday. ``It is not necessary to hold such a meeting at a time when relations are worsening over Japan's claim to the South Korean islets of Dokdo.''
Japan earlier proposed such a meeting in Singapore, but Seoul rebuffed the offer, ministry officials said.
The rejection clouds the prospects for the summit between the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan, scheduled for September in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda also promised to visit Seoul to return a visit by President Lee Myung-bak in April, but their summit is unlikely to take place at an early date.
To protest Japan's claim to Dokdo, Seoul said Tuesday it may boycott the planned summit in Tokyo.
``We've delivered a message to Japanese officials that we have no intention of having a summit unless Japan takes appropriate measures regarding Dokdo,'' Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun said.
President Lee recalled Kwon Tuesday to protest Japan's claim to the islets and pledged to produce countermeasures to strengthen Korea's practical control over them.
Foreign ministers of Seoul and Tokyo have met three times since Lee's inauguration in February to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
High on the agenda at the annual ASEAN Regional Forum will be North Korea. It will also set the stage for various meetings between foreign ministers from Southeast Asian countries plus South Korea, China, Japan and the United States.
``The Dokdo issue may hamper policy coordination between Seoul and Tokyo over North Korea,'' a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity. ``Seoul will take cautious steps to prevent the dispute over Dokdo from hurting the alliance between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington in dealing with the North.''
However, many observers agree it will take time for Seoul to restore relations with Tokyo following mounting calls here to take stern measures.
Chung Mong-joon, a Supreme Council member of the governing Grand National Party, called on the government Thursday to annul its decade-old fisheries pact with Japan, claiming Dokdo must be included in the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
``Our government designated Ulleung Island in the East Sea as the starting point of its EEZ in the 1999 fisheries agreement with Japan and left Dokdo in the `middle zone,' which is not legitimate under international law,'' Chung said.
``The government must annul the deal immediately and renew the fishing pact by setting Dokdo as the base point of Korea's EEZ. Either side can cancel the fishing accord unilaterally,'' he said.
Lawmakers from both governing and opposition parties are also pushing for legislation to strengthen Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo.
GNP legislator Lee Hye-hoon submitted a bill Wednesday to allow more civilian trips to Dokdo and create defense and maritime research facilities on the islets.
The bill was signed by 33 lawmakers from the GNP and the largest opposition Democratic Party (DP). The DP is also preparing a separate bill on Dokdo.