Regional powers welcome Korean summit announcement

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TOKYO, Aug 8 (AP): Regional powers applauded Wednesday's announcement by North and South Korea that their leaders plan to meet later this month, saying it will help ease tensions and boost efforts to denuclearise the peninsula.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun are slated to meet Aug. 28-30 in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, the rival countries said.
The meeting would be the second between the two nations' leaders. "I hope the summit will contribute to easing tension on the Korean peninsula," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo.
"North Korea's denuclearisation is being discussed under the six-party talk framework," he added, referring to international talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme. "I expect that South Korea, as a participant in those talks, will act accordingly."
In Washington, the US State Department hailed the announcement. "We have long welcomed and supported North-South dialogue and hope this meeting will help promote peace and security on the Korean peninsula and fulfilling the goals of the six-party talks," it said, according to an official who read the statement over the telephone. The official refused to allow his name to be used. "China expects positive results can be achieved in the second South-North summit," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in statement.
"The Chinese side supports all things conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and northeast Asia," he said. The summit comes at a time of optimism on the peninsula as North Korea has made strides toward denuclearisation, including shutting down its sole operating nuclear reactor last month in exchange for oil aid.