G-8 nations reaffirm stance on Russia, N. Korea

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 Kyodo

Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight (G-8) agreed Thursday to continue cooperating on issues ranging from Russian reform to North Korean missiles, a Japanese official said.

The two-hour working dinner, held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session, brought together foreign ministers from Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, and proxies from Canada and Germany, the official said.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov received support from other participants as he explained the unchanged commitment to reform of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's cabinet, the official said.

Ivanov defended such Russian measures as deposit guarantee and income compensation, calling them "emergency" actions to fend off social instability caused by the prolonged financial crisis.

He also brushed off concern that the increased currency issuance will lead to inflation, saying the increase is aimed at short-term effects.

In addition, Ivanov asked that Russia be allowed to participate in a meeting early next month of finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who chairs G-8 events this year, said the request will be considered by the G-7 nations, the official said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura expressed hope that Russia will continue efforts to establish a democratic and market-oriented economy, the official said.

Komura also led a discussion about North Korea's Aug. 31 launching of a missile that flew over northern Japan, the official said.

Komura criticized the launch for threatening peace and security in the Northeast Asian region and for raising concern about proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

But he also reiterated the importance of remaining committed to supplying light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea under the 1994 North Korean-U.S. agreement in exchange for Pyongyang freezing its nuclear weapons development program.

The agreement is "the most effective and realistic way to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons," Komura was quoted by the official as saying.

The official said the participants agreed on the need to implement the nuclear deal and to urge North Korea to stop development, deployment and export of missiles.

The meeting also took up such issues as Pakistan's plan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by next September, increasing tension in Afghanistan, the Mideast peace process, and conflicts in Kosovo and Albania.

One unidentified participant proposed that the G-8 begin considering whether to encourage international institutions to resume loans suspended after Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in May, the official said.

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