S. Korea, Japan vow to closely work on DPRK's denuclearization
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South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio met for a summit on Friday, together emphasizing denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"The two leaders agreed on (the need of) a fundamental, comprehensive solution to North Korea (the DPRK)'s nuclear program and promised to closely cooperate to completely resolve the problem," President Lee said during a joint press conference held right after the summit.
"The two leaders, in one voice, also called for changes in the DPRK's attitude," President Lee added.
In particular, Lee and Hatoyama agreed that the nuclear issue should be addressed and resolved in a single step, which refers to the "grand bargain," which Lee earlier proposed while he was visiting Washington.
The Japanese prime minister supported the plan, calling it a "completely correct" approach to realize denuclearization of the peninsula.
"We must find out North Korea (the DPRK)'s true intentions by pursuing a complete and comprehensive solution to North Korea's nuclear, as well as its ballistic missile, programs." Hatoyama said.
"We must not provide any economic assistance to the country if its willingness to quit the nuclear program not shown," he added.
Making his first trip to Seoul since taking office last month, Hatoyama arrived at South Korea's presidential office at local time 11:00 p.m. (0400 GMT), writing "friendly love" in Chinese characters in the message book.
During a one-hour-long summit, the two Asian leaders also shared views on ways to strengthen bilateral ties and further to enrich cooperation in the region.
The summit marks the second gathering between the two leaders after their first meeting held last month on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
They are scheduled to depart later in the day for Beijing to meet with the Chinese premier for a three-way summit.
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