Historic visit to Hiroshima

(Baonghean.vn) - Secretary of State John Kerry has just become the highest-ranking US official to visit the memorial to the victims of the Hiroshima bombing. At the meeting in this city, G7 leaders agreed to promote "a world without nuclear weapons".

US Secretary of State puts his arm around Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida after G7 foreign ministers visited the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. Photo: Reuters.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on April 11 made a historic visit to the World War II museum in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which commemorates more than 140,000 Japanese people who died in the first atomic bombing.

Mr. Kerry will be accompanied by his counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan. The visit is seen as a possible prelude to a similar visit by President Barack Obama, when he attends the annual G7 summit in Japan next May.

The visit comes after a two-day meeting of G7 foreign ministers aimed at calling for “a world without nuclear weapons”.

The statement was seen as a nod to the location of the talks as well as North Korea’s recent missile tests, which the foreign ministers described as “a continued provocation.” On April 9, Pyongyang said it had successfully tested an engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.

In the “Hiroshima Declaration” issued on April 11, the group of powerful countries said: “We reaffirm our commitment to seeking a safer world for all of us and to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons, promoting international stability.”

Hiroshima is the hometown of Foreign Minister Kishida. Photo: AFP.

Speaking ahead of his historic visit to the Peace Memorial Park, Mr. Kerry hoped the visit would “emphasize to the world the importance of peace and of allies working together to make the world safer, and ultimately, we hope, to eliminate weapons of mass destruction from the world.”

“This visit is not about the past, but about the present and especially the future, and about the strength of the relationship that has been built,” Kerry added.

Kerry is the highest-ranking US official to visit the site. It is also the first time senior diplomats from Britain and France - nuclear powers - have visited the memorial park in Hiroshima.

Phu Binh

(According to DW)