During his summit meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro

During his summit meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi in Pyongyang on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il
acknowledged for the first time that Japanese citizens were
indeed abducted to North Korea.

His remarks are tantamount to acknowledging that Pyongyang
sponsored these crimes, and prove that North Korea was indeed a
terrorist state.

On the issue of his country's suspected missile development
program, Kim made clear his intention of extending North Korea's
missile-testing moratorium beyond 2003. If he sincerely means to
do so, this is certainly a step forward.

The big question is whether North Korea will work sincerely to
implement accords reached during the summit. Pyongyang has often
walked out on Japanese negotiators during diplomatic
normalization talks in recent past.

It is essential for the government to stick to its principles
concerning its stance toward North Korea. Tokyo should not make
any easy concessions to Pyongyang.

It is also crucial for Japan to cooperate with the United
States and South Korea as they play their respective roles in
dealing with North Korea.

Japan should not rush to improve ties with North Korea before
the United States and the South make efforts in the same regard.

-- Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo

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Controversial bills

After the press community rejected the draft bill on
broadcasting, now business circles are coming out against a bill
on labor. There is fear these two bills will be the death of the
respective communities.

If passed into law, the broadcasting bill will have the power
to curtail the freedom of the press at anytime. Deliberation of
the bill has been postponed following waves of protest.

The business community is against the labor bill, which they
believe will damage the investment climate. Businesspeople say
that if passed into law, the labor bill will result in mass
layoffs as many businesses will be forced to close down. They
also say investors will put their money in other countries.

The bill is said to be unfair to employers. According to the
draft bill, strikes will be considered a right of employees,
while employers will be obliged to continue paying the salaries
of striking workers.

According to the bill, companies will not be allowed to hire
new employees to replace striking employees, who will be
completely unproductive.

Those are the facts. The two draft bills have received strong
opposition, but there is still a strong push to continue the
deliberation of these controversial bills.

The bills were probably created for political interests.
Groups in the House of Representatives have insisted that the
bills be passed into law. The legislators are seeking new
constituents to support their parties in the 2004 general
election. So, the deliberation of these bills by the House has
been spiced up by camouflaged political moves.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta

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Ultimatum on Iraq

In the few days since President Bush in effect demanded that
the United Nations issue an ultimatum to Iraq, it has been
instructive to observe the alacrity with which almost everybody
is falling in behind Washington. The very same statesmen who had
prophesied doom are now calling on Saddam Hussein to capitulate
before his fate is sealed.

Meanwhile, Saddam himself has been galvanized into preempting
a new Security Council resolution. The "unconditional" offer to
re-admit weapons inspectors is, almost certainly, a ruse. ... But
this offer would never have been made had George W. Bush not been
prepared to go to war.

Only once the Bush administration had decided to overthrow
Saddam, if necessary alone, could the doubts elsewhere be
resolved and a grand alliance put together. Only unilateralism
made multilateralism possible.

-- The Daily Telegraph, London