The United States and Japan have agreed to continue their trade and deregulation talks for a fourth year, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told reporters as he and President Clinton ended a bilateral meeting July 22 in Okinawa.

Clinton said "the agreements we've made here at this summit I think will be very positive for Japan's economy and our relationship."

Clinton also was asked about his reaction to the North Korean missile proposal outlined to him by Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The proposal is "something that needs to be explored ... We need to see exactly what the specifics are," Clinton said.

Following is the White House transcript:

(begin transcript)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Okinawa, Japan)
For Immediate Release
July 22, 2000

Q: Mr. President, has Mr. Mori agreed to a fourth year of the trade deregulation talks with the U.S.?

THE PRESIDENT: Maybe the Prime Minister should answer that.

PRIME MINISTER MORI: Yes, we agreed to continue the dialogue for another year.

THE PRESIDENT: And I'm very pleased about that because it's, I think, been a very fruitful thing for both our countries, and I think it will -- the agreements we've made here at this summit I think will be very positive for Japan's economy and our relationship.

Q: Mr. President, what is your assessment of North Korea's offer to curb its missile program in exchange for space exploration assistance? Is there any reason to believe that's credible?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, were you reassured by that offer?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, let me say, based on what President Putin said last night in our conversations, I think that it's something that needs to be explored and we need to see exactly what the specifics are. I think that he would agree with that, too. It's not clear to me exactly what the offer is and what is being requested and the time for it. But I think we heard enough so that there should be an attempt to determine what the facts are here, but I can't say that I'm clear enough on what the offer was to make a final judgment.

Q: A handshake?

Q: Thank you very much.

END 9:03 A.M.

(end transcript)

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