S. Korea unswayed by Japan view on N. Korea<\/p>\n
SEOUL (AFP): South Korea has failed to persuade Japanese Prime
\nMinister Keizo Obuchi to embrace its engagement policy with North
\nKorea and lift sanctions imposed on the communist state.<\/p>\n
President Kim Dae-Jung held more than two hours of talks with
\nObuchi on Saturday, but he was unable to convince the Japanese
\npremier that Japan should take the first step and lift sanctions
\nfirst while at the same tackling North Korea's missile threats.<\/p>\n
\"We had hoped the Japanese premier would agree to mend ties
\nand lift sanctions following this trip, especially after the New
\nYork deal,\" a government source, who asked to remain anonymous,
\nsaid on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"But Japan seems determined to see some progress in solving
\nNorth Korea's missile issue first,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said Japan's policy did not fit in with Kim's \"Sunshine
\nPolicy\" of peaceful engagement with North Korea as a way of
\nbreaking down Cold War confrontation in the region.<\/p>\n
\"Japan says it agrees with the basic principle of President
\nKim's Sunshine Policy but it is not willing to go further and
\nmend ties before the missile issue is resolved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Obuchi ended on Sunday his three-day visit, the first by a
\nJapanese premier in five years and the subject of a wave of anti-
\nJapanese protests.<\/p>\n
The Japanese prime minister made it clear during his speech at
\nKorea University on Saturday that ties between Pyongyang and
\nTokyo could not improve as long as North Korea's missiles
\nthreatened Japan.<\/p>\n
\"In a situation in which North Korea does not dispel
\nsuspicions over nuclear weapons development, nor suspend the
\nexperimentation, launching development, deployment and export of
\nballistic missiles, it is difficult to build amicable bilateral
\nrelations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Officials here said that quote alone was evidence Japan had no
\nintention of doing what Kim had pressed for -- to normalize
\nrelations between Pyongyang and Tokyo and lift sanctions.<\/p>\n
Japan cut aid links and imposed other sanctions on North Korea
\nafter the unpredictable state launched a multi-stage medium-range
\nTaepo-Dong ballistic missile over its territory last August.<\/p>\n
While Obuchi voiced worries over North Korea's missile threats
\nafter talks with Kim Saturday, Kim responded by saying South
\nKorea faced an even bigger threat from the missiles than Japan.<\/p>\n
Despite the differences, South Korea and Japan appealed to
\nNorth Korea to end decades of isolation and confrontation.<\/p>\n
\"We are willing to improve ties (with Pyongyang) and hereby
\nissue a joint appeal for North Korea to open the door for dialog
\nsaying they would tolerate North Korea's missile proliferation.<\/p>\n
\"Prime Minister Obuchi and I shared the view that the North's
\ndevelopment and test-firing of mid and long-range missiles will
\nnot be tolerated,\" Kim said.<\/p>\n
He added that \"South Korea, Japan and the United States must
\nstep up joint efforts\" to work against the North's missile
\nproliferation.<\/p>\n
\"The missiles are not only a threat to Japan but are a bigger
\nthreat to us,\" Kim said.<\/p>\n
\"We are taking a firm defense posture and sending a stern
\nwarning lo North Korea, but we are also sending a message of
\npeace to the North so that it can choose the message of hope,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/s-korea-unswayed-by-japan-view-on-n-korea-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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