[Kabar-indonesia] North Korea to dominate agenda at 23-nation defense meet

[Joyo]

North Korea to dominate agenda at 23-nation defense meet
November 14, 2006

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): North Korea and its nuclear threat were
expected to dominate talks launched Tuesday in Malaysia by
top military officials from the U.S., Japan, South Korea and
20 other countries.

"It's (North Korea) a challenger that concerns us all. We
want to put everything on the table," said Adm. William
Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. "We'd like to
hear people's views, particularly in the challenge with
North Korea."

The ninth Chief of Defense Forces' conference brings
together top defense and military leaders from 23 countries
including nuclear powers United States, France and Pakistan,
along with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and several
Southeast Asiannations, among others.

Most of the sessions and papers being presented at the two-
day conference are off-limits to media.

Japanese Self Defense Forces chief of staff Admiral Takashi
Saito will present a closed-door paper titled "Managing the
Expanding Missile Threat" to his counterparts Tuesday, an
official program said, although it made no specific
reference toNorth Korea.

Fallon said the Pentagon wants to hear what other countries
think of Pyongyang's Oct. 9 nuclear detonation, and was
seeking a "good understanding of what's going on and the
views of all that are here."

"We have a reality of a country that has the capability of
long-range missiles, that certainly has a history of making
statements and doing things that are unsettling," Fallon
told reporters, referring to North Korea.

North Korea agreed earlier this month to return to
negotiations with China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the
United States, after staying away from the nuclear talks for
a year.

China, considered Pyongyang's closest ally, is not attending
the conference in Malaysia's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur.
Other topics include presentations on counterinsurgency by
the Philippines, and on disaster response by Indonesia's
Military Commander Marshal Djoko Suyanto.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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