South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Friday proposed to
transform the six-party talks on the nuclear issues on the Korean
Peninsula into a permanent regional security body to enhance peace
and cooperation in Northeast Asia after the denuclearization on the
peninsula.
"The new forum should permanently function as a multilateral
security cooperation body by playing a role in arms control and
dispute arbitration," Roh said at the opening ceremony of an
international peace forum on Jeju Island.
"Cooperation in Northeast Asia must not be restricted to
security fields. It should lead to cooperation in logistics,
energy, trade and monetary policy and eventually develop into a
Northeast Asian economic bloc," Roh added.
Roh said his government will hold fast to the engagement policy
towards North Korea.
"Despite missile and nuclear tensions, South Korea has to
persuade the North? and build up trust with maximum tolerance
and patience," Roh noted.
"Our peace policy is long-sighted. We're striving to harmonize
security (matters) of the present and future by focusing on a
future Northeast Asian order involving relations with the US,
Japan, China and Russia, rather than just on inter-Korean ties and
the Korea-US alliance," said the president.
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)
