Foreign ministers from China, Japan and South Korea on Monday pledged to deepen cooperation on non-proliferation and disarmament, as pressure grew on Pyongyang over its nuclear programme.
The three ministers, who met in Shanghai to prepare for an October 10 leaders' summit in Beijing, did not specifically refer to efforts to end North Korea's nuclear drive in a joint statement, read by China's Yang Jiechi.
But their meeting coincided with the news that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao would travel to Pyongyang next week and officials made it clear the issue was on the agenda for Yang, Japan's Katsuya Okada and South Korea's Yu Myung-Hwan.
"Through these high-level contacts we are hoping the DPRK (North Korea) will change its adamant position not to return to the six-party talks," Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said of Wen's trip to Pyongyang.
Before the talks Monday Kodama said that the three countries needed to "deliver a strong message" to North Korea that it must return to the stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
"Unfortunately, (Pyongyang) hasn't responded in any way to our requests, so if we are going to have a dialogue, we have to send a consistent message, we think that is the most important thing," Kodama said.
The October summit in Beijing is likely to bring together new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and Wen, who would have the opportunity to brief the others on his Pyongyang trip.
It would be only the second three-way summit ever and would mark Hatoyama's first visit to China since taking office earlier this month.
Leaders of the three nations, which accounted for 16 percent of global GDP last year, held their first trilateral summit in December last year in Japan, when Taro Aso was the Japanese premier.
China, Japan and South Korea are parties — along with North Korea, Russia and the United States — to the stalled six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament.
North Korea quit the talks in April after the United Nations censured its long-range rocket test, and Pyongyang was further angered when the world body imposed tougher sanctions after its nuclear test in May.
But earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il told a top Chinese envoy visiting Pyongyang that he was willing to engage in bilateral and multilateral talks on the nuclear issue.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said Wen would travel to Pyongyang from October 4-6 to "meet with North Korean leaders and exchange views on developing China-North Korea relations as well as issues of common interest."
She gave no other details about the rare trip to the North by a Chinese leader.
However, quoting diplomatic sources in Beijing, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Kim was expected to make an "important announcement" during Wen's visit — perhaps stating his willingness to give up nuclear weapons.
Also in Shanghai, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that Yang and Okada had agreed in a bilateral meeting to work toward the creation of a European Union-style East Asian community proposed by Hatoyama.
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