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Thursday June 29, 1:14 AMJapan, France agree to urge N. Korea to halt missile preparations(Kyodo) _ Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his French counterpart, Philippe Douste-Blazy, agreed Wednesday in Moscow to cooperate in urging North Korea to halt its preparations to test-fire a long-range missile, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.The two reached the agreement during bilateral talks on the sidelines of the annual Group of Eight foreign ministerial meeting that begins Thursday in Moscow. Douste-Blazy was quoted by the official as showing deep concern over the missile issue. Signs of launch preparations for the Taepodong-2 missile have prompted warnings from the international community that Pyongyang refrain from a launch. The French foreign minister underscored the importance of resuming the stalled six-party talks to address the North Korean nuclear issue and expressed his intent to take this up during the G-8 foreign ministerial talks, the official said. The six-party talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions have remained deadlocked since the last round was held in November as the North refuses to return to the negotiating table due to sanctions the United States imposed on entities suspected of laundering or counterfeiting money for Pyongyang. As for the Iranian nuclear issue, Douste-Blazy said the ball is in Iran's court and called on Tehran to soon accept an incentives package aimed at resolving the impasse over its nuclear program, according to the official. The package was offered by the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and Germany earlier this month amid mounting concern over the Iranian nuclear standoff. |
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