Social Democratic Party leader Takako Doi on Wednesday explained to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori her party's proposals for a Northeast Asian security organization and a regional nonnuclear pact, party officials said.
Doi told Mori she plans to propose to South Korean President Kim Dae Jung that his country take part in both an eight-nation security organization and a four-nation nonnuclear agreement when she visits Seoul on Aug. 24-25.
Mori said the proposals are meaningful now that the international peace environment is favorable, they said.
"You are on closer terms with President Kim than I am, so I hope you will hold a frank exchange of opinions with him," Mori reportedly told Doi.
He said he agrees with the ideals behind the proposals but does not believe they can be swiftly achieved.
The SDP, Japan's fourth largest opposition party, envisions a security organization in which Canada, China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States will discuss political, economic and security affairs in the region.
The party also hopes that Japan, North Korea, Mongolia and South Korea sign a treaty designating the Northeast Asian region a nuclear-free zone. and stipulating that their countries ban the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons as well as nuclear experiments.
Doi has indicated she will also discuss her plans for regional security and the nonnuclear pact with the leaders of North Korea and Mongolia when she visits those countries in September.