Japan, US, S Korea diplomats meet over N Korea
>>TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met yesterday with his counterparts from the United States and South Korea to discuss trilateral cooperation in countering nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.
The meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, Germany, comes amid stalled denuclearisation talks, after North Korea’s year-end deadline for a breakthrough passed.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to unveil a “new strategic weapon”, possibly breaking his promise with US President Donald Trump not to carry out intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear tests.
At their previous meeting in mid-January, Mr Motegi and his counterparts urged North Korea to refrain from military provocations and continue efforts to reach a deal that would see denuclearisation be rewarded with relief from crippling economic sanctions.
The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers also held a separate meeting yesterday amid a diplomatic feud between their countries over wartime history and trade policy.
Mr Motegi was expected to ask Seoul to address the issue of court decisions ordering compensation for South Koreans forced to work in Japanese factories during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonisation of the Korean Peninsula. Tokyo argues the rulings go against a 1965 bilateral agreement that settled wartime claims.
Meanwhile, Mr Kang will likely repeat calls for Japan to lift stricter regulations on South Korea-bound exports of some key materials needed to manufacture semiconductors and display panels.
Mr Motegi and Defence Minister Taro Kono are attending the Munich Security Conference, an annual forum to discuss issues regarding diplomacy and international security, with a key theme this year being “Westlessness”, or uncertainty over the role of the West amid the rise of other global powers such as China.
Later yesterday, Mr Motegi was scheduled to attend a panel discussion and hold talks with counterparts from Iran, China and Russia.