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Seoul, Tokyo Differ on North Korean Missile Tests
Japan and South Korea remain at odds over how best to approach North Korea’s decision to test seven missiles last month, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 4). “South Korea believes the emphasis should be on dialogue,” South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying during a meeting yesterday in Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso. “The most important thing now is not to make the situation worse,” Foreign Ministry official Shigeo Yamada quoted Ban as saying. Yamada said Aso told Ban that Japan wants to continue dialogue with North Korea, but that additional pressure was needed to ensure progress on the issue (Associated Press/Fox News, Aug. 8). Japanese Defense Agency Chief Fukushiro Nukaga said Tokyo has boosted its defenses against a possible attack by North Korea, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. “What Japan is doing right now is anticipating a situation where those missiles are being launched against Japan,” Nukaga said. “Japan’s self-defense forces have increased strength to defend themselves to face a situation such as this one” (Agence France-Presse/Channel NewsAsia, Aug. 8). North Korean leader Kim Jong Il reportedly would not meet with a visiting Chinese delegation last month to protest Beijing’s vote in favor of a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang’s missile tests, Hong Kong’s Cheng Ming periodical reported. The North Korean Foreign Ministry also summoned the Chinese ambassador in Pyongyang on July 16 to protest the vote. “The Chinese government’s act of going against its words and obligations gave the Korean Workers Party and the North Korean government a great surprise and indignation,” Cheng Ming quoted North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan as saying. North Korea’s ambassador to China sought a meeting that day with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing but was refused, according to Cheng Ming. The North Korean Embassy then sent 11 officials — including the ambassador, counselors and military attache — to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, where they were reportedly refused entry (T’ien Sui, Cheng Ming/BBC Monitoring, Aug. 8).
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