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Afghanistan and N Korea focus of pre-summit meet

Foreign ministers from the G8 industrialized nations agreed yesterday on the need to step up efforts to secure Afghanistan’s borders and stabilize food and oil prices to avoid a global crisis.

The foreign ministers discussed the issues in a series of bilateral meetings and a working dinner on the first of two days of talks intended to lay the groundwork for the G-8’s annual summit, to be held in northern Japan next month.

Japanese officials briefing reporters said the discussions focused primarily on Afghanistan, climate change, food and oil prices and an expected announcement by North Korea on the status of its contentious nuclear program.

In a meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura stressed the need for the reconstruction of Afghanistan and expressed his support for increased security in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region as part of global fight against terrorism.

Canadian Foreign Minister David Emerson agreed with the need for greater security in Afghanistan, the officials said on condition of anonymity, citing summit policy.

Japan has been eager to promote discussion of Afghanistan, where it has pledged US$2 billion in aid and is floating ideas for additional assistance, such as law enforcement vehicles.

Several of the ministers also commented on the need for a coordinated, global effort to keep oil and food prices from rising further, but did not offer specific proposals on how to do so, the officials said.

Yesterday’s meetings were overshadowed by expectations that North Korea would soon announce its nuclear programs to China and destroy the cooling tower at its shadowy nuclear reactor complex in Yongbyon.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressed the need to look closely at the report before reacting, or making any concessions.

“We will continue to work for verifiable denuclearization,” she told reporters accompanying her on a trip that will also take her to South Korea and China this weekend.

Rice said the US would not forget about North Korea’s kidnappings of Japanese citizens years ago, calling it a “major human rights issue” that “is of great concern to Japan as well as the United States.”

Rice also said no electoral outcome would be acceptable and that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe must allow a legitimate government to take power.

“Clearly, no runoff election that doesn’t have the participation of opposition ... can be considered legitimate, no outcome can be considered legitimate,” she said.

The Japanese and British foreign ministers made similar comments.

“It’s not just an internal issue,” British Foreign Minister David Miliband said, officials said.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions were also a major point of discussion.

The EU froze the assets this week of Iran’s largest bank over Tehran’s refusal to back off uranium enrichment.

Iran has yet to formally respond to a package of trade and economic incentives to make a deal. The offers were made on June 14 by the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.



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