Asian powers skirt N Korea issue

The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea issued a post-summit joint declaration yesterday that made no reference to North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and which avoided touchy issues such as territorial and historical disputes.

The delayed declaration came a day after the end of the fifth annual summit between Premier Wen Jiabao , Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday.

Japanese and Korean media said the conspicuous absence of any reference to North Korea in the declaration was largely due to disagreements among the Asian powers over the wording on the contentious issue - a strong sign that Beijing was still unwilling to criticise its ally, Pyongyang.

However, the issue was apparently brought up again yesterday at a joint meeting between President Hu Jintao and South Korean and Japanese leaders, and at another meeting between Hu and Lee.

Citing Japanese officials, Kyodo News reported that Hu, Noda and Lee confirmed the importance of the three countries' close co-operation to avoid an escalation of tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

Hu promised that China would continue trying to convince North Korea not to act against the best interests of regional stability, according to Japan's deputy chief cabinet secretary, Tsuyoshi Saito.

Noda told Hu and Lee that the three countries 'share the view' that it is necessary for them to call on North Korea not to take provocative actions, Saito said.