hankyoreh

"South Korea has begun working on a concrete action plan for North Korea’s possible test of a nuclear weapon," said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon during an August 31 meeting with journalists in Seoul.

"Should the North go ahead with the test, it will threaten the security of all of Northeast Asia and ruin the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) non-proliferation plan."

Regarding Ban’s remarks, a government official said, "There has been no discussion on joint countermeasures between South Korea and the U.S., but the two allies will start consultation over [a possible] North Korean nuclear test."

In connection to Japan’s upcoming election for prime minister, Ban stressed that dialogue between the two countries "has stopped. It is important that the Japanese next leader has an awareness of history and the [meaning of the] Yasukuni Shrine." The shrine is a controversial commemoration of Japanese war dead, including Class A war criminals. Current prime minister Junichiro Koizumi has been criticized for his regular visits there.

Asked about the possibility of Japanese Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi visiting South Korea, Ban answered, "If he visits Seoul, we will welcome him, The 6th South Korea-Japan exclusive economic zone (EEZ) will open in Seoul between September 4 and 5," he added.

In relation to the South Korea-U.S. summit due to open in Washington on Sept. 14, Ban said, "Unfortunately, there can be a number of perception gaps between Seoul and Washington. The upcoming summit is important. Once a perception is formed, it is difficult to remove it. The urgent thing is to dismiss it," added Ban, preferring to remain general as to which ’perception gaps’ he was referring.

One probable gap that the minister was referencing is the controversy over transfer of wartime operational control from U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) back to South Korea. Regarding the issue, the foreign minister said, "We have four principles [involved in the handover], and the U.S. agreed to them." The four principles are maintaining the South Korea-U.S. mutual defense treaty signed in 1953, the continued presence of the USFK and guaranteed dispatch of additional American troops during wartime, continuous informational and intelligence support from the U.S., and maintaining joint war deterrence and arranging joint preparatory measures on the Korean peninsula.