Page 2 of 2 Japanese bigwig on surprise Pyongyang
visit By Hisane Masaki
normal diplomatic relations until the
abduction issue is resolved. The Japanese
government has been seeking concrete information
on the abductees and demanding that any surviving
abductees be repatriated. Japan and North Korea
held bilateral talks on the abduction and security
issues as well as normalizing relations early last
year, but the negotiations have since stalled.
Yamasaki is visiting Pyongyang apparently
in hopes of breaking the deadlock in Japan-North
Korea relations over Pyongyang's
nuclear test and past
abduction of Japanese nationals. Yamasaki
previously met with senior North Korean officials
in Dalian, northern China, in April 2004 to
discuss the abduction issue.
A longtime
ally of Koizumi, Yamasaki is believed by many to
be hoping to pave the way for another trip by the
former premier, something he urged on him last
month. But Koizumi has not made it clear whether
he has any intention of making another pilgrimage
to Pyongyang. Some pundits say he is not
enthusiastic about the idea because it would be
tantamount to faulting the government of Abe, whom
he virtually hand-picked as his successor.
Yamasaki's Pyongyang visit is reminiscent
of a trip there by a high-powered joint delegation
of the LDP and the now-defunct Japan Socialist
Party (JSP) in September 1990. The mission was led
by Shin Kanemaru, a former LDP kingmaker who took
the party vice presidency the following year, and
Makoto Tanabe, vice chairman of the JSP, who also
became JSP chairman the following year.
Kanemaru and Tanabe were given a
red-carpet welcome by the then North Korean leader
Kim Il-sung, the late father of Kim Jong-il, and
they adopted a three-party (LDP, JSP and Workers'
Party of Korea) declaration, which paved the way
for opening negotiations the following year on
normalizing diplomatic ties.
But the
declaration sparked an immediate barrage of
criticism in Japan because it stated that Japan
apologized and pledged compensation not only for
its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula
but even for what Pyongyang claimed were the
losses it had suffered for 45 years after the end
of World War II.
But there are big
differences between Kanemaru and Yamasaki. The
former wielded unrivaled influence in Japanese
politics as mentor of former prime minister Noboru
Takeshita, who led the then-largest LDP faction.
By contrast, Yamasaki just heads a small
intra-party faction and his political influence is
limited. He has also distanced himself from the
Abe government. Yamasaki set out on a Pyongyang
trip even without knowing whom he would be able to
meet in the North Korean capital.
Yamasaki
ventured into Pyongyang apparently in hopes of
having a chance to meet with the supreme leader
Kim. But it remained to be seen as of Thursday
whether Yamasaki's much-coveted encounter would
take place.
On Sunday, Yamasaki told
reporters that although North Korean officials he
would meet had not yet been decided, he at least
wanted to hold talks with Song Il-ho, ambassador
in charge of diplomatic normalization talks with
Japan. He called Song "a friend".
When
Japan announced sanctions in response to North
Korea's test-firing of missiles last July, Song
harshly criticized the Japanese move as
"unreasonable" and warned that it could have
catastrophic results. In addition to Song, the
Japanese politician might be able to meet with
Kim's right-hand man, First Vice Foreign Minister
Kang Sok-ju.
As of Thursday noon, it
remained to be seen how warmly Yamasaki would be
greeted by those North Korean figures he does see.
But one thing is sure: he will not have it as good
as Kanemaru. Even if he were able to meet with
Kim, he would very likely return to Tokyo
empty-handed, not only because of his limited
political influence at home but because of the
current gloomy situation surrounding the two
countries.
Kanemaru's September 1990
Pyongyang trip led to the release the following
month of two crew members of the No 18 Fujisan
Maru cargo ship - Captain Isamu Beniko and Chief
Engineer Yoshio Kuriura - after seven years of
detention. However, Yamasaki has no chance of
bringing back any surviving Japanese kidnap
victims if, as Tokyo claims, there are any.
Hisane Masaki is a Tokyo-based
journalist, commentator and scholar on
international politics and economy. Masaki's
e-mail address is yiu45535@nifty.com.
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