By Kim Tae-jong
Korea, Japan and China Friday agreed to strengthen cooperation to tackle regional and global environmental issues.
The agreement was reached as South Korean Environment Minister Lee Maan-ee, Zhou Shengxian, chief of the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection and Shoichi Kondo, Japan’s senior vice minister for the environment, gathered to discuss current environmental issues and cooperation measures during the 12th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting at BEXCO in Busan.
On the final day, they adopted an agreement to cope with natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes amid the devastation in Japan from the natural catastrophe.
“The ministers of the three countries understood the urgency concerning the environmental problems they face, and also agreed to cooperatively deal with regional and global environmental issues,” the ministry said.
During the bilateral talk between the ministers of Korea and Japan, the Japanese minister agreed to share information about radioactivity pollution from nuclear plants in Fukushima and seek joint countermeasures.
The three ministers also vowed to tackle the yellow dust storms that affect the three countries and have worsened as northeast China and Inner Mongolia suffer severe droughts.
In addition, they will closely work together on the protection of biodiversity and water industry promotion, and China and Japan will support Korea’s bid to host the 18th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2012.
Since its inception at the initiative of Korea in 1999, the meeting has aimed at making a joint response to global and regional environmental issues.