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JCP welcomes joint statement of the 4th round of Six-Party Talks

The fourth round of the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program held among Japan, China, Russia, South Korea, North Korea, and the United States ended on September 19 in Beijing after adopting its first-ever joint statement setting out goals and basic steps for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair SHII Kazuo on the same day published a comment on the statement as follows:

The Six-Party Talks in Beijing ended on September 19 after adopting a joint statement indicating the basic direction for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In the statement, North Korea committed to abandoning all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, and the United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade North Korea. This marked an important step toward the peaceful resolution of issues, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The Japanese Communist Party pays tribute to all participating countries, including China that chaired the Six-Party Talks, for persevering with their task until reaching an important and substantive agreement. As a party that has strongly wished to see the parties concerned make sincere efforts to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons as a universal task and "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the JCP welcomes the joint statement.

In the second point of agreement, the six parties promised to abide by the U.N. Charter and other international laws, and referred to the issues of normalizing relations between the United States and North Korea as well as between Japan and North Korea. This has an important meaning for Japan's diplomacy. The joint statement said, "The DPRK and Japan undertook to take steps to normalize their relations in accordance with the Pyongyang Declaration, on the basis of the settlement of unfortunate past and the outstanding issues of concern." It shows that the direction provided by the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration to comprehensively resolve issues between the two countries in the course of normalizing relations has not only been agreed upon bilaterally between Japan and North Korea, but has received international support in the Six-Party Talks.

The JCP strongly hopes that Japan and North Korea immediately resume political dialogues based on this international agreement in order to comprehensively resolve the pending issues, including a swift settlement of the abduction issue.

It is also significant that the joint statement in its fourth point of agreement said, "The six parties committed to joint efforts for lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia," putting forward concrete intentions for building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and developing cooperation in ensuring the security of Northeast Asia.

The JCP has envisaged a perspective in which the framework of the Six-Party Talks will be developed into one for ensuring the peace and security of Northeast Asia even after completing its primary task of resolving the nuclear issue. It strongly hopes that the latest agreement will play a role in establishing peaceful and stable international relations in the region. -- Akahata, September 20, 2005