By Kim Tae-gyu
THE HAGUE ― President Park Geun-hye agreed Wednesday with her Japanese and U.S. counterparts to hold two sets of three-way talks aimed at better coping with rising threats from North Korea.
While Park, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama were discussing the issue during a summit on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit at The Hague, the North test-fired two medium-range missiles.
“The three leaders agreed to convene their chief negotiators of the six-party talks and defense trilateral talks (DTT) to discuss the North’s nuclear issues,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said after the 40-minute meeting, the first summit between Park and Abe.
The two trilateral meetings are expected to further strengthen the alliance of South Korea and Japan with the United States against North Korea, which has threatened “nuclear measures” of late and repeatedly test-fired missiles.
The six-party talks were originally designed to seek a peaceful way of dealing with security concerns on the Korean Peninsula amid the North’s nuclear threats to neighboring countries.
The six countries ― the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas ― first convened to discuss the aftermath of Pyongyang’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003.
Several rounds of discussions through 2007 produced some substantive results, including getting the North to promise to mothball its nuclear facilities in exchange for fuel aid and a rapid normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. and Japan.
But the Stalinist regime pulled out of the talks in early 2009 and has yet to return even though its only benefactor, China, recently reiterated its call for their resumption.
Since 2008, the DTT has taken place five times to discuss a variety of concerns and cooperation among the three allies, such as sharing information on regional security issues, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and non-proliferation.
The three chief executives stressed the significance of the three-way collaboration against the belligerent North.
“The North’s nuclear issue poses a great threat to regional peace and stability, and I think that it is crucial for the international community, including South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, to form a unified response,” Park said.
Obama was on the same page with Park.
“The U.S. commitment to the security of both Japan and the Republic of Korea is unwavering … and a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable,” Obama said during the summit.
“Over the last five years, close cooperation between the three countries succeeded in changing the game with North Korea,” he added. “Our trilateral cooperation has sent a strong signal to Pyongyang that its provocations and threats will be met with a unified response.”
After the summit, Park flew to Berlin for a state visit.