Seoul, January 15: Japan’s Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara has arrived in Seoul to meet with his South Korean counterpart for talks on issues ranging from bilateral ties to the tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
On Saturday, Maehara held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and Seoul’s Unification Minister Hyun In-taek amid mounting speculations that the tensions on the peninsula would become the focal point of the negotiations, the Associated Press reported.
The Japanese official, who has travelled to Seoul for the first time since taking office in late September, is also expected to pay a courtesy call to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
The one-day visit comes after the Japanese minister expressed willingness to hold direct talks with North Korea to tackle its nuclear and missile programs.
Maehara attended a security forum in the South Korean capital on Saturday during which he called on Pyongyang officials to take specific actions in order to advance inter-Korean dialogue.
On Jan 8, North Korea renewed its offer for an early resumption of negotiations with the South as part of fence-mending efforts to defuse rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The latest offer for rapprochement comes days after South Korea rejected an earlier proposal by the North to hold unconditional talks with Seoul.
Maehara further turned the spotlight on the international nuclear disarmament negotiations with North Korea, saying the talks can be resumed only after the intra-Korean negations are back on track.
The South Korean foreign minister, for his part, stated that negotiations cannot be resumed unless Pyongyang displays its “true commitment” to shelving its nuclear program activities.
“We’ve reaffirmed that North Korea should show its seriousness of purpose in denuclearization by taking concrete steps so as to create an atmosphere conducive to resume the six-party talks,” Kim said at a news conference.
The meeting comes in the wake of the recent North Korean artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, which left two South Korean marines and two civilians dead.
—Agencies