The United States, Japan and South Korea agreed on Tuesday that engagement with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will greatly enhance prospects for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.
"The three delegations shared the view that they are now facinga critical opportunity to improve relations with North Korea (DPRK)," senior officials from the three countries said in a communique issued after two days of consultations in San Francisco.
"They reconfirmed the importance of engaging North Korea (DPRK)in the international community through constructive dialogue, which would greatly enhance prospects for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia," the communique said.
According to the U.S. State Department which made the communique available in Washington, the Japanese and South Korean delegations welcomed U.S. plans to conduct serious dialogue with the DPRK and expressed their intention to have their own dialogue with Pyongyang in parallel with the U.S. efforts.
The San Francisco meeting came after U.S. officials reportedly met with DPRK representatives to the United Nations in New York last week to discuss how to arrange a visit to Pyongyang by a U.S.envoy.
Senior officials from the United States, Japan and South Korea meet periodically to coordinate policies towards the DPRK under a mechanism known as the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group.
At the two-day San Francisco talks, delegations from the United States, Japan and South Korea were led separately by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly, Japan's Director-General of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Hitoshi Tanaka, and South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik.
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2002)
