|
North Korea Japan
Until the late 1980s, North Korea's post-World War II policy
toward Japan was mainly aimed at minimizing cooperation between
Japan and South Korea, and at deterring Japan's rearmament while
striving for closer diplomatic and commercial ties with Japan.
Crucial to this policy was the fostering within Japan of support
for North Korea, especially among the Japanese who supported the
Japanese communist and socialist parties and the Korean residents
of Japan. Over the years, however, North Korea did much to
discredit itself in the eyes of many potential supporters in
Japan. Japanese who had accompanied their spouses to North Korea
had endured severe hardships and were prevented from
communicating with relatives and friends in Japan. Japan watched
with disdain as North Korea gave safe haven to elements of the
Japanese Red Army, a terrorist group. North Korea's inability and
refusal to pay its debts to Japanese traders also reinforced
popular Japanese disdain for North Korea.
Coincidental with the changing patterns in its relations with
China and Russia, North Korea has moved to improve its strained
relations with Japan. P'yongyang's primary motives appear to be a
quest for relief from diplomatic and economic isolation, which
has also caused serious shortages of food, energy, and hard
currency. Normalization of relations with Japan also raises the
possibility of North Korea's gaining monetary compensation for
the period of Japan's colonial rule (1910-45), a precedent set
when Japan normalized relations with South Korea.
The first round of normalization talks was held January 30-
31, 1991, but quickly broke down over the question of
compensation. P'yongyang has demanded compensation for damages
incurred during colonial rule as well as for "sufferings and
losses" in the post-World War II period. Japan, however, insists
that North Korea first resolve its differences with South Korea
over the question of bilateral nuclear inspections. Other points
of contention are North Korea's refusal both to provide
information about Japanese citizens who had migrated to North
Korea with their Korean spouses in the 1960s, and to discuss the
case of Yi Un Hee, a Korean resident of Japan whom North Korean
agents had allegedly kidnapped to North Korea to teach Japanese
in a school for espionage agents. As of mid-1993, several rounds
of talks had yet to produce any significant progress toward
normalization of relations.
Data as of June 1993
|
