South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio held their first summit in New York on Sept. 23. During the summit, they revealed their intention to make an active effort to address the history between the two countries.

<##IMAGE##> President Lee said to Prime Minister Hatoyama, “Let’s work on creating a close relationship between our countries.” He added, “I hope Prime Minister Hatoyama will be willing to play a role in fulfilling this goal, and I am also already prepared to take on such a role.”


In response, Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “The Democratic administration in Japan has the courage to look squarely at the history of our two countries.” He added, “We intend to build a constructive relationship between our countries.” This can be viewed as the new Democratic administration Japan’s will solve historical problems including the issues of victims of colonized period.


An official from the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea, or Blue House) said, “President Lee hopes that the emperor of Japan’s visit to South Korea will serve as an opportunity to solve these historical problems.” 　



Prime Minister Hatoyama also said, “I also hope that our two countries can cooperate on various affairs, not only the affairs regarding our two countries, but also affairs related to Asia and the world including the economy, climate change and nuclear proliferation.”


On the matter of the North Korea nuclear issue, according to Lee Dong-kwan, the secretary for public information of the Cheong Wa Dae, President Lee emphasized solidarity with the countries that have participated in the six-party-talks and cooperated on sanctions against North Korea. Secretary Lee conveyed President Lee’s comments, by saying, “North Korea has given signs of appeasement as a result of coordinated sanctions by the international community.“ In response, Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “We should persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program by all means. The dialogue with North Korea is important, however, and I think we need to pressure North Korea in cooperation with the international community.”


In response to the North Korea-U.S. bilateral dialogue, Prime Minister Hatoyama said, “I strongly hope that the North Korea-U.S. bilateral talks will be helpful in reopening six-party-talks.” President Lee said, “I do not oppose the North Korea-U.S. bilateral dialogue if the dialogue could lead North Korea to participate in six-party-talks.”