S. Korea and Japan Differ on Policy toward the North

“There are numerous speculations on how much North Korea has progressed in developing nuclear weapons, but I believe the North does not have nuclear weapons yet. However, the North is likely to have already succeeded in extracting enough plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons,” Japan`s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said yesterday.

“We have no information that indicates the North has completed the manufacturing of any nuclear weapons. At the same time, the United States has also stated that it is not true that the North has completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods,” added Abe, who is the right-hand man of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Japan`s policy toward North Korea, during an exclusive interview with the Dong-A Ilbo.

Abe went on to say, “it is true that there are differences in policy towards the North between the South Korean government and the Japanese government,” and that it is hence necessary to close the gap before 6-way talks begin, which are scheduled to take place at the end of this month.

On normalization of diplomatic ties between the North and Japan, Abe said, “If all of the family members from Japan who were abducted by the North were to be returned, negotiations would resume. Diplomatic normalization is possible if the North elucidates clearly on how the abductees, whom the North claims to be missing or dead, died in a convincing way. “The Japanese government is not considering economic sanctions against the North yet,” Abe said. “A visit to North Korea by Prime Minister Koizumi or an official visit to Japan by the North`s senior officials isn`t likely to take place within this year,” he added.

parkwj@donga.com