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2 Japanese bigwig on surprise
Pyongyang visit By Hisane
Masaki
TOKYO - For Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe, the current surprise visit to North
Korea by a heavyweight politician from his own
ruling party could hardly come at a worse time.
Advocating the need for "dialogue" and
"persuasion", Taku Yamasaki, a 70-year-old former
vice president of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP), arrived in Pyongyang from Beijing on
Tuesday for a trip that is expected to last five
days.
Meanwhile, Abe is making a whirlwind
tour of major European capitals to drum up support
for his hardline stance and increased
pressure against Japan's
reclusive neighbor amid concerns that Pyongyang
might be readying another nuclear test.
Abe and other government officials quickly
expressed displeasure and took pains to distance
themselves from Yamasaki's trip, saying the
government has nothing to do with it, and its
tough stance against Pyongyang remains unchanged.
Many, even within the LDP, have more bluntly
criticized the trip as "dual diplomacy" and a
"publicity stunt".
During a gathering in
his home city of Fukuoka last Friday, Yamasaki
said, "Some might say it is dual diplomacy or
buttering up [North Korea], but I believe that we
need to engage in dialogue and efforts to persuade
the country."
But Yamasaki's critics say
his visit might just play into the hands of
Pyongyang. They say it could send a wrong message
to the international community, especially China,
Russia and South Korea, key members of the
six-party talks, which are taking a softer
approach than the United States and Japan toward
North Korea.
North Korea extended an
invitation to Yamasaki last summer at a time when
he was calling for direct talks between Washington
and Pyongyang to resolve the standoff over the
nuclear issue, something strongly demanded by
Pyongyang but rejected by the US administration of
President George W Bush.
Abe expressed
displeasure at Yamasaki's Pyongyang visit on
Tuesday, immediately before leaving for Europe.
"While he may have various thoughts as a lawmaker,
I would like him to be well aware of the fact that
Japan is imposing sanctions because of the nuclear
and missile issues and, more important, on the
abduction problem," Abe said. "Japan is pressuring
North Korea to sincerely respond to the nuclear,
missile and abduction issues. I'd like him to
understand it."
The premier has a
reputation as a hardliner on Pyongyang, especially
over the issue of North Korean abductions of
Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train
spies. This has earned him a high degree of public
popularity in Japan, enabling him to take the helm
of the ruling LDP and government to succeed
Junichiro Koizumi last September. Many in Japan
have found Pyongyang's actions unforgivable,
lighting a nationalist fuse here.
Chief
Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki also said he
had told Yamasaki by telephone while he was still
in Beijing that his visit would run counter to the
government's policy.
"I told him, 'It's
undesirable for a Diet [parliament] member, a
representative of the people, to visit North
Korea, as we've banned national-government
officials from visiting the country in principle
and asked the [Japanese] people to refrain from
visiting the country,'" the top government
spokesman said. "It was not a move linked to the
government. He took the action in a private
capacity."
According to Shiozaki, Yamasaki
told him he would visit North Korea as head of the
LDP's research commission on security to "promote
diplomacy by legislators". "I'll discuss
implementation of the Pyongyang Declaration" with
North Korean officials, Shiozaki quoted Yamasaki
as telling him.
That declaration was
signed by then prime minister Koizumi and North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il during Koizumi's first
visit to Pyongyang in 2002. The two leaders
pledged to work together to resolve pending issues
between the two countries with a view to
ultimately normalizing diplomatic ties. The
document also contained a moratorium on missile
launches. The declaration has already become a
dead letter, however, in the wake of Pyongyang's
missile launches and nuclear test.
While
in office, Koizumi made two whirlwind trips to
Pyongyang, first in September 2002 and again in
May 2004. During his first summit with Koizumi,
Kim admitted that agents of his country had
abducted some Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s.
Pyongyang continues to insist that of the
13 Japanese it abducted, eight later died. But it
has failed to provide convincing proof. Japan
suspects that not only some of the eight but many
other Japanese kidnap victims are still alive. The
other five abductees were allowed to return to
Japan shortly after the first Koizumi-Kim summit.
Japan now formally recognizes 17 Japanese
nationals, including the five returnees, as having
been abducted by North Korea.
Tokyo's
basic policy is that Pyongyang will not be offered
aid or
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