U.S., Japan vow to resolve Okinawa military base row

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada Wednesday agreed that the two countries will try to resolve their row over the relocation of the U.S. Marine base in Okinawa Prefecture as quickly as possible through a new ministerial-level working group, Kazua Kodama, spokesman of the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
The spokesman briefed reporters after the Clinton-Okada meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Singapore.
Some 47,000 American troops are stationed in Japan with more than half of them in Okinawa.
The United States and Japan agreed in 2006 that the Marine airfield in Futenma, a crowded city on Okinawa, would be relocated to another part of the island. But the Japanese government wanted to do some change about the agreement after August elections.
In addition, Okinawans are trying to have the military base moved off the island entirely. However, the Obama administration has insisted that Japan's new government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stick to the pact.
Okada also asked Clinton for "an all-out support" of the United States in investigating a fatal hit-and-run accident in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture, suspected of having been caused by a U.S. Army member, and Clinton agreed.
On the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Hillary Clinton briefed Okada on a plan to send U.S. special representative Stephen Bosworth to the DPRK "soon", the spokesman quoted Clinton as saying.
Clinton said the decision was made after extensive consultation with partners within the six-party process and she reaffirmed the visit is not for negotiation, but efforts to "pave the way for DPRK's return to the six-party talks." The United States will keep close touch with its partners in the six-party talks to find a peaceful path to the shared objectives on the Korean Peninsula.
The two countries will closely cooperate in addressing issues of the DPRK, the spokesman said.
The two ministers also reaffirmed cooperation in addressing issues related to Iran's nuclear development program, among others, according to the spokesman.
Meanwhile Clinton also voiced her appreciation for Japan's new Afghan aid plan worth five billion U.S. dollars.
Japan on Tuesday announced that it would send a maximum of five billion dollars in aid to Afghanistan over the next five years.
The two ministers agreed to work closely in addressing the issue of Afghan reconstruction, said the spokesman.
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