TOKYO, May 23 (UPI) -- The weekend Tokyo summit among leaders of China, Japan and South Korea helped significantly boost cooperation among them, China's foreign minister said.
The trilateral summit brought Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose government is battling one of the world's worst nuclear disasters at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, set off by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who traveled to Tokyo with Wen, said the Chinese leader offered a multi-point proposal for the three countries to widen cooperation, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The proposal called efforts to support Japan's post-quake reconstruction, enhancing nuclear safety, liberalization of trade and investment and starting negotiations on a tripartite free trade zone next year.
The three countries' economies together account for nearly 20 percent of the global GDP.
Kyodo News reported the three leaders expressed concern over North Korea's uranium enrichment program. They also stressed the importance of constructive inter-Korean dialogue and "concrete actions" to create an environment for the resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Japanese Prime Minister Kan said strong cooperation among the three Asian powers would be needed for Japan's rapid rebuilding efforts.
The three leaders agreed nuclear power "remains an important option for many countries," but that ensuring its safety is "a prerequisite … and the principle of 'safety first' should be upheld."
South Korea's Lee said: "I really learned from the Fukushima accident about the need for speedy communication with the public in addition to fine scientific preparations," Kyodo reported.
