Former ROK premier: Beijing Olympics "historic" regional showcase

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be a historic opportunity to show the world the progress achieved in regional cooperation in Asia and Northeast Asia, in particular, said Lee Hong Koo, former premier of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The former ROK leader made the comment at the Third Session of the Northeast Trilateral Forum, which was held here on Monday.

The Games will show the world the progress achieved in building up an Asian Community, a Northeast Asian Community in particular, which is working together to pursue peace and prosperity, said Lee, who headed an ROK delegation to the forum.

Lee said that China, Japan and the ROK shared a common view on the acceleration of building up a Northeast Asian Community. He called the historic and cultural heritage of the three nations an "enormous asset" that "makes it possible to build a Northeast Asian Community."

Addressing climate change, Lee called for efforts by the three nations to find an appropriate solution as there are divided views among developed and developing countries on ways to fairly deal with the issue.

The forum's position on the issues of environment and energy will be forwarded to the G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan, in July.

The Third Session of the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum is a regional platform with experts from politics, business and academia of the three nations, with a goal of promoting regional people-to-people exchanges.