Leaders of South Korea and Thailand urged
North Korea on Saturday to call off its plan to launch a long-range rocket,
saying the move hurts regional peace and violates a U.N. Security Council
resolution.
The
appeal came after summit talks between President Lee Myung-bak and Thai Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Yingluck arrived in Seoul earlier in the day for
next week's global anti-nuclear terrorism conference.
"We
agreed that North Korea's long-range rocket launch plan is a threat to regional
peace and stability and North Korea should halt the launch and abide by a U.N.
Security Council resolution," Lee said during a joint news briefing with
Yingluck.
Lee
also said he and the Thai leader also shared an understanding that it is a
"self-contradiction" for a nation whose people are suffering from
hunger to go ahead with a rocket launch that costs an enormous amount of money.
The
anti-nuclear conference in Seoul comes amid heightened tensions over North
Korea's announcement last week that it will launch a long-range rocket next
month to put what it claimed is a satellite into orbit, a long-running pretext
that the provocative regime has used to disguise banned missile tests.
On
bilateral issues, Lee and Yingluck agreed to boost defense cooperation, deepen
all-around cooperation and upgrade their relations to a "strategic
partnership" in the near future, a joint statement said.
On the
sidelines of the summit, the defense ministers of the two countries signed a
memorandum of understanding that lays out the scope and other details and
principles on defense exchanges. The presidential office said the accord is an
instrumental basis for defense cooperation.
Lee and
Yingluck welcomed the agreement and pledged to work closely together to further
accelerate and deepen cooperation, especially in the areas of disaster relief
and peacekeeping, the joint statement said.
The two
leaders also agreed to cooperate actively to establish a water resources
management system in Thailand, which suffered devastating flooding last year.
The sides agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation
in water management, the statement said.
The
Thai leader has expressed high interest in South Korea's project to refurbish
four major rivers in a way that prevents floods, preserves water resources and
promotes tourism along the waterways. She is scheduled to visit project sites
while in South Korea.
Lee and
Yingluck appreciated that the two countries' relations have steadily become
more friendly and cooperative since they forged diplomatic ties in 1958, and
agreed to make joint efforts to lift the relations to a "strategic
partnership," the statement said.
They
welcomed the increase in bilateral trade volume to the all-time high of $13.9
billion last year, and made further efforts to boost trade volume to $30
billion within the next five years by 2016, the statement said.
Yingluck
expressed gratitude to Lee for South Korea's swift provision of relief aid
during last year's flooding in Thailand, and praised Lee for his "low
carbon, green growth" drive aimed at seeking economic development through
environment friendly industries. (Yonhap)
koreatimes.co.kr
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