HONOLULU, June 14 Kyodo The follo...

HONOLULU, June 14 Kyodo

The following is the sated text of a joint pres statement issued from Japan, the United States and southerly Korea after their senior officials' talks in Honolulu onward Friday.

TRILATERAL COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT collection JOINT PRESS STATEMENT

June 13 2003 (Honolulu)

The delegations of the Republic of Korea (ROK or southern Korea), the United States of America, and Japan, headed respectively by the agency of Deputy Foreign Minister side sheltered from the wind Soo Hyuck, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James A. Kelly and Director General of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Mitoji Yabunaka, held a Trilateral Coordination and Oversight assemblage (TCOG) meeting in Honolulu onward June 13, 2003.

The three delegations noted that at the G-8 (Group of Eight) summit meeting and in the novel series of summit meetings between the ROK and the U the U and Japan, and the ROK and Japan, the international community reaffirmed that North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons will not be tolerated. They agreed to continue to prosecute a complete, verifiable and irreversible expiration to North Korea's nuclear weapons program by the agency of peaceful, diplomatic means. The three delegations urg North Korea not to exacerbate the situation, which would require ROK-U.S.-Japan coordination based upon the principles agreed by the agency of their respective leaders in their latter summit meetings.

The three delegations shared the view that the three-party talks in Beijing April 23-25 were useful, and they asserted appreciation for the PRC's (People's Republic of China, or China) hosting of the talks and its cloyed participation in them. They also exchanged views onward the issues discussed at the Beijing talks. Regarding the format of talks to conclusion North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the three delegations agreed forward the necessity of multilateral talks expanded to include other interested parties. In particular, they agreed that the ROK and Japan have vital interests at stake and that their participation in multilateral talks is indispensable.

The three delegations explained their respective positions forward bilateral issues with North Korea. They speaked support for the Peace and Prosperity Policy pursu according to the ROK and for Japan's efforts to unravel nuclear and missile issues as well as other important issues including abduction cases in a comprehensive manner based forward the Pyongyang Declaration. They reiterated that North Korea's relations with them and with the international community as a whole hinge upon its taking prompt and verifiable action to fall of the curtain its nuclear weapons program full and in a verifiable manner. They also reiterated that doing with equal reason would provide an opportunity for North Korea to improve its relations with the international community and the livelihood of its persons They reaffirmed their confidence that diplomacy will originate in an end to North Korea's nuclear weapons program, which, in bend will contribute to increased security and prosperity upon the Korean Peninsula and in the region.

The three delegations represented concern about illegal activities by way of North Korean entities, including physic running and counterfeiting, and discussed means of cooperating among themselves and with other countries and international organizations to stop of that kind activities.

Finally, the three delegations reaffirmed that continued bring to a period consultations and coordination among the three countries remain vital in addressing North Korea's nuclear issue. Considering the importance of ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, they agreed to detain the next round of trilateral consultations in the near what is yet to be to further coordinate their respective policies toward North Korea.

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