The Foreign ministers of China, South Korea and Japan converged on Jeju Island, South Korea, on Sunday for a meeting at which they pledged to press ahead with common development and safeguard regional peace and stability.

 

 

At the one-day meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke on the common interests and shared responsibility that all have in ensuring regional peace, boosting common development and contributing to global harmony.

 

There was all-round agreement that cooperation between the three powers would lead to better peace and stability as well as improved common development in the region, said a spokesman for the Chinese delegation.

 

The three sides pledged to work closer in boosting mutual political trust, expanding mutually-beneficial cooperation and to share positive and constructive roles in pushing forward international and regional issues, said the spokesman.

 

The foreign ministers enjoyed a thorough exchange on a wide-ranging agenda including investment, transportation, environment and climate change as well as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

To this end, all parties called for the February 13 agreement to be implemented early on and vowed to keep forging ahead with the six-party process.

 

The day also saw one-on-one meetings between all the ministers. According to Mitsuo Sakaba, press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Aso and Song's 40-minute meeting broached bilateral issues and the nuclear affair.

 

Japan and South Korea will launch a new round of negotiation on their exclusive economic zone issue on June 17-18 in Seoul whilst their joint study of history will start its second phase on June 23 in Tokyo, Sakaba said.

 

Yang and Song were set to fly out to Seoul on Monday for the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), a regional forum scheduled to be held in Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, with delegations in attendance from 30 countries.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2007)