South Korea and Japan's top diplomats have agreed that the upcoming inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea summits will provide a historic opportunity to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and permanent peace in the region. 

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono reached the consensus during an hour-long meeting at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. 

 A Seoul official who attended the meeting said both ministers agreed that this period leading up to the Seoul-Pyongyang summit and the forthcoming Washington-Pyongyang summit is a watershed moment that will offer a historic opportunity for resolution to long-standing issues.

Kono said sanctions and pressure on the North should continue until the regime takes concrete actions, and pointed out the need for the North to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. 

In addition, he asked Seoul to deliver Tokyo’s stance to Pyongyang that the abduction of Japanese nationals by the North in the 1970s and 80s must also be solved.  

In response, Minister Kang said there is no change in Seoul’s stance that sanctions and pressure on the North should be maintained until substantial progress is made on the denuclearization issue. 

She assured that South Korea is preparing for the inter-Korean summit with a clear view that inter-Korean relations and denuclearization cannot be dealt with separately.

However, Kang reminded that the North promised to stop provocations while talks are under way, and emphasized that maintaining the dialogue momentum is also very important to help resolve problems.

In regards to the abduction of Japanese nationals, Kang said it is an important humanitarian issue, like war-separated families on the Korean Peninsula, which South Korea has sought to solve and will continuously do so. 

[Photo : ]