Press Conference 18 July 2000

1. Announcement concerning the Foreign Minister level bilateral meeting between Japan and North Korea
2. Announcement on the establishment of a private discussion group on economic cooperation to the People's Republic of China
3. Questions on Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's visit to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
4. Follow-up questions on the formation of the private discussion group
5. Question on the disbursement of emergency aid to East Timor

1. Announcement concerning the Foreign Minister level bilateral meeting between Japan and North Korea

   Press Secretary Ryuichiro Yamazaki: Good afternoon. I have two announcements at the outset.

   The first is an announcement that was made by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono himself about two hours ago, around noon. I would like to inform you of this announcement.

   Japan and the North Korean side have been conducting informal consultations, and as a result the following has now been decided.

   Firstly, taking the opportunity of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Bangkok next week, Foreign Minister Kono and Minister of Foreign Affairs Paek Nam-sun of North Korea will have a short bilateral meeting from 6:30 p.m. on 26 July.

   Furthermore, it was agreed to implement at an early stage three things: (1) the next round, which will be the tenth meeting, of the normalization talks between Japan and North Korea; (2) the holding of a Japan-North Korea Red Cross Meeting; and (3) the third visit to Japan by Japanese wives who now reside in North Korea. We intend to coordinate the actual schedule of these three events.

   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
   
2. Announcement on the establishment of a private discussion group on economic cooperation to the People's Republic of China

   Mr. Yamazaki: The purpose of this private discussion group is to discuss how to conduct economic cooperation to the People's Republic of China in the twenty-first century. It is comprised of opinion leaders, journalists, people from the industry as well as some people from non-government organizations (NGOs), and will be chaired by the former Minister of the Economic Planning Agency, Mr. Isamu Miyazaki. The private discussion group will discuss this topic from various angles for about six months and toward the end of this year hopes to come up with some sort of report indicating its results.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
   
3. Questions on Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's visit to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Q: Kyodo reported today that Prime Minister Mori is going to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, beginning on 19 August. Other Japanese newspapers have also reported about this visit, so is it possible to at least confirm that something is going on and that Prime Minister Mori will really go to India and Pakistan?

   Mr. Yamazaki: As for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's travel plans after August, we are considering various things, but nothing has been decided at this time. Therefore, I cannot disclose to you any details concerning what possibilities we are considering. You are right, some newspapers have reported in some speculative articles, but I cannot make any official comment at this time.

   Q: The Yomiuri report says that Prime Minister Mori not only plans to visit India but also lift sanctions against India and Pakistan. What is your comment on this?

   Mr. Yamazaki: On this issue, we have not yet made any decision.

   Related Information (Japan-Pakistan Relations)
   
4. Follow-up questions on the formation of the private discussion group

   Q: Concerning the private discussion group on China, why China?

   Mr. Yamazaki: If you remember, in May we had the bilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting between Foreign Minister Kono and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan of the People's Republic of China. During this meeting we said that because this year would be the final year of the Fourth China Grant Program, and that China on its part was discussing its tenth five-year plan, we thought it good timing to take up the topic of how to conduct future economic cooperation to the People's Republic of China, in part, given the various opinions that have been voiced in Japan, which were also conveyed to the Chinese side at the time of the May Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

   Q: Do you plan to have the same discussion groups with other countries?

   Mr. Yamazaki: I am not aware of that. I am only aware of this one at this present time.

   Q: Do you expect that there will be reviews of the grant aid to China, according to the results of the discussions?

   Mr. Yamazaki: Firstly, I cannot say what the future amount of our grant aid to China will be. Secondly, the private discussion group is to conduct a comprehensive review, and I do not think the purpose of it is to address the figures of official development assistance (ODA) per se.

   Q: When and where does this private discussion group on China take place?

   Mr. Yamazaki: The first meeting takes place on 19 July in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is a private discussion group to advise Director-General Yutaka Iimura of the Economic Cooperation Bureau.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
   
5. Question on the disbursement of emergency aid to East Timor

   Q: Regarding emergency aid to East Timor, when will this be disbursed?

   Mr. Yamazaki: This was announced last Friday, I believe. I am not sure of the exact timing, but it will be disbursed as soon as possible. If you are interested in the exact timing, I can check for you.

   Related Information (Timor-Leste Situation (Archives))