Japan will closely cooperate with the other five sides with a constructive attitude in the ongoing six-party talks, Japanese delegation head Sasae Kenichiro said Wednesday.?

Kenichiro, also director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, made the remarks in his keynote speech at the plenary session of the talks, which was held in Beijing this morning.??

 

He said the framework of the six-party talks should perform efficiently, so as to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue as early as possible. "Meanwhile, peaceful settlement of other pendent issues in diplomacy and security should be sought too, so that permanent peace will be realized in Northeast Asia," he added.

 

Kenichiro said, "As for the promise of North Korea to scrap its nuclear programs, we will pledge to provide 'security guarantee' for the nation."

 

"In regard to energy aid, we appreciate the 'important proposal' (to provide 2 million kwh of electricity to the North) raised by the South Korean government," he noted.

??

According to Kenichiro, the basic principles of the Japanese side remained unchanged, that is to say, Japan is in pursuit for settlement of a series of pendent issues through the six-party talks and related bilateral contacts and in accordance with the spirit of the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration. The settlement will be conducive to the normalization of the relationship between the two nations, he added.

 

"We earnestly wish the six nations to reach consensus on major subjects of the current talks," Kenichiro said.?

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 27, 2005)