[Kabar-indonesia] Abe, Yudhoyono agree to join hands on N. Korea, aim for FTA in Nov.

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: ASEAN protests North Korea's nuclear test, urges Pyongyang to
return to six-party talks

Abe, Yudhoyono agree to join hands on N. Korea, aim for FTA in Nov.

TOKYO, October 12 (Kyodo) -- Japan and Indonesia will continue 
to work together in dealing with North Korea and accelerate bilateral
negotiations so that a framework free trade accord can be struck in
November, the leaders of the two nations agreed in a telephone call
Thursday evening.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono also agreed in their 20-minute conversation to
further develop cooperation in areas including energy, infrastructure,
regional security, as well as antiterrorism and antipiracy measures,
Abe's spokesman Hiroshige Seko said.

Abe was quoted as saying he looks forward to concluding the framework
free trade accord when Yudhoyono visits Japan in November, while the
Indonesian president, who initiated the call, congratulated Abe's
taking office last month and expressed hope that the premier will play
an active role in East Asia.

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ASEAN protests North Korea's nuclear test, urges Pyongyang to return
to six-party talks

MANILA, October 12 (AP) - Southeast Asian nations on Thursday joined
an international chorus slamming North Korea's claimed nuclear weapons
test, and urged Pyongyang to desist from further tests and return to
stalled negotiations.

"We are ... deeply concerned by North Korea's announcement that they
have conducted a nuclear test," said a statement issued by Philippine
Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, the current chairman of the
10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

He said the claimed test threatened the peace and security of East
Asia and was inconsistent with North Korea's commitment under a joint
statement issued during six-party talks in Beijing in September 2005,
when Pyongyang promised to give up its nuclear weapons program for
economic assistance and security assurances.

"We therefore protest such testing, and strongly enjoin the DPRK to
desist from conducting further tests, and appeal to all parties
concerned to exercise restraint, and to refrain from taking action
that will aggravate the tension," the statement said.

North Korea's formal name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The country said it successfully exploded an atomic bomb on Monday in
a test of its nuclear capabilities, but the move has yet to be
confirmed by international experts.

ASEAN called on North Korea to abide by the provisions of the U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1695, which seeks the country's return to
the six-party talks, and to return at an early date to the 1968
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, from which North Korea withdrew in
2003.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

North Korea is represented in the ASEAN Regional Forum, the region's
largest security gathering that includes the U.S., Australia and other
Western partners of the group.

The six-party talks have comprised the two Koreas, the U.S., Japan,
China and Russia.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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