S. Korea unswayed by Japan view on N. Korea

S. Korea unswayed by Japan view on N. Korea

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea has failed to persuade Japanese Prime
Minister Keizo Obuchi to embrace its engagement policy with North
Korea and lift sanctions imposed on the communist state.

President Kim Dae-Jung held more than two hours of talks with
Obuchi on Saturday, but he was unable to convince the Japanese
premier that Japan should take the first step and lift sanctions
first while at the same tackling North Korea's missile threats.

"We had hoped the Japanese premier would agree to mend ties
and lift sanctions following this trip, especially after the New
York deal," a government source, who asked to remain anonymous,
said on Sunday.

"But Japan seems determined to see some progress in solving
North Korea's missile issue first," he said.

He said Japan's policy did not fit in with Kim's "Sunshine
Policy" of peaceful engagement with North Korea as a way of
breaking down Cold War confrontation in the region.

"Japan says it agrees with the basic principle of President
Kim's Sunshine Policy but it is not willing to go further and
mend ties before the missile issue is resolved," he said.

Obuchi ended on Sunday his three-day visit, the first by a
Japanese premier in five years and the subject of a wave of anti-
Japanese protests.

The Japanese prime minister made it clear during his speech at
Korea University on Saturday that ties between Pyongyang and
Tokyo could not improve as long as North Korea's missiles
threatened Japan.

"In a situation in which North Korea does not dispel
suspicions over nuclear weapons development, nor suspend the
experimentation, launching development, deployment and export of
ballistic missiles, it is difficult to build amicable bilateral
relations," he said.

Officials here said that quote alone was evidence Japan had no
intention of doing what Kim had pressed for -- to normalize
relations between Pyongyang and Tokyo and lift sanctions.

Japan cut aid links and imposed other sanctions on North Korea
after the unpredictable state launched a multi-stage medium-range
Taepo-Dong ballistic missile over its territory last August.

While Obuchi voiced worries over North Korea's missile threats
after talks with Kim Saturday, Kim responded by saying South
Korea faced an even bigger threat from the missiles than Japan.

Despite the differences, South Korea and Japan appealed to
North Korea to end decades of isolation and confrontation.

"We are willing to improve ties (with Pyongyang) and hereby
issue a joint appeal for North Korea to open the door for dialog
saying they would tolerate North Korea's missile proliferation.

"Prime Minister Obuchi and I shared the view that the North's
development and test-firing of mid and long-range missiles will
not be tolerated," Kim said.

He added that "South Korea, Japan and the United States must
step up joint efforts" to work against the North's missile
proliferation.

"The missiles are not only a threat to Japan but are a bigger
threat to us," Kim said.

"We are taking a firm defense posture and sending a stern
warning lo North Korea, but we are also sending a message of
peace to the North so that it can choose the message of hope," he
said.