South Korea's new foreign minister and Japan's prime minister agreed on last Dec. 27 2006 that the two countries must cooperate closely to resolve the lingering issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.
Song Min-soon, who arrived in Japan on Dec. 26, also met separately with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and exchanged documents ratifying a treaty on legal assistance, the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier on Dec. 27, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Song during an exchange of greetings before reporters that he was "delighted'' Song had chosen Japan for his first overseas trip since becoming Seoul's top diplomat in early December.
PHOTO: AFP
"I hope both countries will work together so that these meetings will be accepted naturally,'' Song said in response.
Song's trip comes after six-nation talks on resolving North Korea's nuclear ambitions failed recently in Beijing.
Abe and Song agreed their countries should work closely and with the United States to resolve the Korean nuclear problem, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Song and Aso agreed to a mutual assistance pact to improve cooperation between both countries in cross-border criminal investigations, the ministry said. The treaty will go into effect Jan. 26, it said.
During Song's trip to Japan, the two sides are also expected to discuss steps to mend strained ties, including a possible visit to Japan by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun — his first since June 2003, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
Bilateral ties have been hurt by territorial and historical disputes, including a row over former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a war shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals. (AP)
日本外務省表示,南韓新任外交通商部長和日本首相於二○○六年十二月二十七日同意兩國必須緊密合作,以解決延宕的北韓核武問題。
外務省在一份聲明中表示,十二月二十六日訪日的宋旻淳,在單獨與日本外相麻生太郎會晤時,簽署換文司法互助協定。
稍早在十二月二十七日,日本首相安倍晉三在記者面前和宋旻淳寒喧時對宋表示,他對於宋旻淳於十二月初接任南韓外長後,能將日本選為海外參訪的首站表示高興。
宋旻淳回應︰「我希望兩國能攜手合作,讓此類會談常態化。」
近來為解決北韓核武發展而在北京舉行的六邊會談破裂後,宋旻淳開始這趟海外參訪之旅。
外務省在一份文件中表示,安倍晉三和宋旻淳同意兩國應緊密合作,與美國共同解決北韓核武問題。
外務省表示,宋旻淳和麻生太郎同意一項互助協定,促進雙方跨國犯罪的調查合作。這份協定將於一月二十六日生效。
宋旻淳訪日的行程中,兩國也將預期討論如何修補雙方緊張的關係,包括南韓總理盧武鉉訪日的可能性,南韓外交部表示,這將會是盧武鉉自二○○三年六月來的首度造訪。
日韓雙邊關係因領土歷史紛爭,以及 前日本首相小泉純一郎多次參拜靖國神社所引起的爭議而產生裂縫。靖國神社供奉日本戰時陣亡者和遭判刑的戰犯。
(美聯社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110