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Former U.S. defense secretary William Perry, who served as North Korea policy coordinator in the Clinton administration, told Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung on Friday there was no time to lose in resolving the North Korean nuclear dispute.
Perry and Yoon exchanged views in a two-hour luncheon meeting, in which the former defense secretary also told Yoon the U.S. ¡°needs to study history¡± in response to a complaint that the Washington is not taking strains in the Korea-Japan relationship seriously enough.
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President Roh Moo-hyun greets William Perry, the former U.S. defense secretary and North Korea policy coordinator, and Christopher Hill, the U.S. point man in stalled talks on North Korea's atomic weapons program, on Friday.
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The author of the "Perry Report" covering the Clinton administration's comprehensive North Korea policy, Perry stressed U.S.-Korea cooperation was ¡°crucial¡±. Defense Ministry spokesman Shin Hyun-soon said later Perry¡¯s comments were ¡°an expression of hope that North Korea returns to the six-party talks as soon as possible."
Yoon urged the U.S. to take a closer interest in strained Korea-Japan relations in the interest of a stronger Korea-U.S. alliance -- a coded plea to the U.S. not to incline too far toward Japan¡¯s position in a recent spat between Seoul and Tokyo over Korea¡¯s Dokdo islets and attempts to whitewash Japanese wartime atrocities in the island country¡¯s textbooks.
The Korean minister reportedly told Perry recent Korean moves to strengthen military cooperation with China, which some have interpreted as a loosening of ties with the U.S., were motivated by China¡¯s quest for regional stability. Perry replied it was ¡°understood¡± when Yoon told him, "China wants stability and peace on the Korean peninsula very much. Cooperation with China is important.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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