(* This is a provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only. The original text is in Japanese.)

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso

Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 9:50 a.m.
Place: Briefing Room, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Main topics:

Typhoon No. 4 and Chuetsu-oki Earthquake
Cabinet Meeting
North Korean issues

1. Typhoon No. 4 and Chuetsu-oki Earthquake

Minister:
From last week to this week, we have seen Typhoon No. 4 in addition to the earthquake in Niigata and Nagano Prefectures. Nine people have lost their lives due just to the earthquake, and over 900 have sustained injuries. I would like to extend my sympathies to those who have been affected. At the same time, we must ease concerns as quickly as possible. The Japanese government is discussing a "swift response" to this situation.

2. Cabinet Meeting

(See Japanese version.)

3. North Korean issues

Question:
The Heads of Delegation Meeting of the Six-Party Talks is to begin tomorrow. With North Korea announcing that it has shut down its nuclear facilities, we are going to focus on actions for the next phase. How far do you believe the next Talks should progress, including progress on the uranium enrichment issue?

Minister:
We are dealing with North Korea here, so it's not very helpful to try to anticipate before we have started, but I believe that we should begin by completely implementing the initial actions. According to announcements by the IAEA, it has been verified that the 5 megawatt Yongbyon facility has been shut down. The United States has stated that the remaining facilities have also been shut down, but the IAEA has not officially announced that this is so. Therefore, we must at the very least verify that the remaining facilities have been shut down as well. In addition, the 200 megawatt Taechon facility is under construction; what will happen to this facility that is being built also a matter of concern. Sean McCormack, Press Secretary of the United States Department of State, did not speak in such pessimistic terms, but based on our past experience, we believe that we must conclusively settle discussions with North Korea, or else we risk a different result than we had anticipated. We should make sure that we carefully oversee that the initial actions are carried out and proceed from there.

Question:
I believe that listing all nuclear programs has been deemed a necessary issue to discuss at the Talks as well. What is your position on this?

Minister:
There is a wide array of issues that must be discussed, including uranium enrichment and many others. However, North Korea's approach is "action for action" -- "A 50,000 ton shipment of heavy fuel oil has arrived, so let's act this way," "If we give you this much, we want this next." We should assume that there will continue to be a lot of push and pull of this type in our negotiations.

Question:
Regarding Japan-North Korea relations, what is your expectation of the extent to which discussions will advance, while there are several problems such as the issue of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan?

Minister:
I can't say for sure, as these discussions should take place in Beijing. Presumably, there will be the usual discussion with them saying that we must stop the imperialism of the United States and other defiant ways of approaching North Korea. Japan and the United States, for whom this is relevant, will be present at the Heads of Delegation Meeting of the Six-Party Talks, so it is important to include this issue in our discussions as well.

Question:
Is there a general timeframe for beginning the Ministerial meetings of the Six-Party Talks after the deliberations of the Heads of Delegation?

Minister:
At the very least, beginning with IAEA Deputy Director Heinonen, all concerned parties should verify that the nuclear facilities have been sealed, monitoring cameras set up, initial actions implemented, and after everything has been completed, it may be necessary to have another round of verifications at the working level. I believe that we can proceed only after all of this has been completed, so based on that, I would say the process will not finish before the end of July, so perhaps until August or September. I believe that the process will take quite a bit of time.

Question:
Will another Heads of Delegation Meeting of the Six-Party Talks be held by September?

Minister:
Whether that is the case depends on North Korea's actions. It would be a different story if North Korea responds appropriately, but reaching the next stage involves shipments of the energy equivalent of 95,000 tons of heavy fuel oil and food, etc. Based on this, it will be fairly difficult to predict our actions for the next stage. I believe that it will be difficult to hold a Ministerial meeting from July to early August, as the United States had stated in the past.

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