East Asia powers still have issues

North Korea was high up on their agenda, especially where China was concerned. Wen had visited Pyongyang the previous week and met Kim Jong-Il, the North Korean leader, who indicated a willingness to return to the six-party talks on condition that bilateral talks with the United States are first held.

Wen emphasized the importance of seizing the opportunity offered by North Korea's willingness to return to the talks, but Japan and South Korea also had their own agendas.

South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, has proposed a “grand bargain” with North Korea under which that country would give up its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic recognition. However, there appeared to have been little if any discussion of this idea during the summit meeting.

Hatoyama, on his part, asserted at a joint press conference that the “grand bargain” should include the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. But Japan has made no progress with North Korea on this issue, and its inclusion in discussions on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula would make success even more elusive.

Regional integration and the emergence of an East Asian community is a long-term process. The meeting in Beijing suggests that the three major East Asian countries are serious about it. The fact that they have now been meeting for 10 years despite changes in government in all three countries suggests how much importance they attach to it and how determined they are to succeed.

Frank.ching@gmail.com

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