N. Korea declares readiness to hold 'sincere' talks with Japan

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 19, 2002

BEIJING, Aug. 12 Kyodo

North Korea said Monday it is ready to hold a ''sincere'' dialogue with Japan to settle matters left over from the past and open ''a new phase of improving the relationship'' with a view to eventually establishing diplomatic ties.

''The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is ready to make positive efforts to solve the issue of Japan's redress for its past and all matters related to the establishment of diplomatic ties,'' said an editorial in the official Rodong Sinmum, which was reported by the Korean Central News Agency, monitored in Beijing.

''The two sides should sincerely hold contact and dialogue...as desired by the people at home and abroad to create an atmosphere of the talks between the DPRK and Japan and open a new phase of improving the relationship,'' it said.

It said that for bilateral dialogue and negotiations to be put ''on their right orbit,'' both sides should pay attention to points contained in a joint press statement issued when North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi met Aug. 1 in Brunei.

In that statement, the two sides agreed to make serious efforts to resolve the various issues between them, including settlement of the past and humanitarian affairs, in order to realize the normalization of relations as early as possible.

North Korea has called for Japan to atone and compensate for its 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

Tokyo insists Pyongyang reveal what happened to at least 11 Japanese nationals it alleges were abducted to the North in the 1970s and 1980s. North Korea denies the allegation but has promised to look into it as a ''humanitarian issue.''

The editorial, stressing the need for sincerity in order to make desired progress in bilateral talks, said, ''The future DPRK-Japan dialogue and negotiations should not repeat the past failure which brought disappointment to the people at home and abroad''

The last round of normalization talks between North Korea and Japan, held in October 2000 in Beijing, ended in deadlock over such issues as Japan's responsibility for its past deeds and the issue of the alleged abductions.

In the July 31 talks between Paek and Kawaguchi, they agreed to hold a meeting in August between officials of the two countries' foreign ministries at the director-general level on issues concerning the normalization of bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, the Japanese and North Korean Red Cross societies are to meet next Monday and Tuesday in Pyongyang and will likely discuss Tokyo's allegations about its missing nationals.