hankyoreh

Oct. 9. From the right

“For the core part of the bilateral talks, we dedicated a lot of time to the East Asian community issue and the North Korea issue.”

These were the remarks of Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio at a joint press conference with President Lee Myung-bak in front of the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) on Friday following a thirty-minute South Korea-Japan summit. Observers suggest this statement means that little time was given to discussing plans for resolving conflicts surrounding the rocky history between the two countries, one of the main issues in South Korea-Japan relations.

Hatoyama’s remarks demonstrate in a nutshell the gist of what the two countries’ leaders hoped to get out of these talks. President Lee focused on gaining Hatoyama’s consent for the “Grand Bargain” he proposed as a solution to the North Korea nuclear issue, while Hatoyama focused on gaining President Lee’s consent for his conception of an East Asian community.

Hatoyama made a clear show of support for President Lee’s “Grand Bargain,” saying that he believes it is “a very precise and proper plan.” He also said President Lee had confirmed that the issue of Japanese abductees to North Korea was included in the comprehensive package. In essence, Hatoyama indicated that he agreed to the “Grand Bargain” in conjunction with the promise of active support and cooperation from President Lee on the abductee issue, which is a major issue in North Korea-Japan relations and has had a huge effect on public opinion trends in Japan.

To properly understand the context of the sympathies formed between the two leaders regarding the North Korea nuclear issue, it should be kept in mind that a summit is scheduled to take place Saturday in Beijing between the South Korean, Chinese and Japanese leaders. The South Korean president and Japanese prime minister essentially expressed their intent to try to persuade China at the summit in Beijing based on the results of Friday’s talks. This is an area where they come up against China’s approach of trying to persuade South Korea and Japan based on the outcome of a summit last Monday between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Observers say the results of the bilateral talks are propping up South Korea and Japan against China.

Hatoyama interpreted President Lee’s “Grand Bargain” as being “of the position that we cannot engage in matters like economic cooperation as long as North Korea shows no concrete actions or intent [regarding weapons of mass destruction, including its nuclear program].” “That is really the proper view,” Hatoyama added. Observers say there is considerable room for interpreting these remarks as being aimed at China, which pledged large-scale economic aid to North Korea, and emphasize the need to note Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s response to this approach by the South Korean and Japanese leaders at Saturday’s tripartite summit. In connection, China has expressed its intent to add to the originally scheduled summit between Hatoyama, Lee and Wen, including a newly scheduled “meeting” with Hu for the Korean and Japanese leaders and a dinner hosted by the Chinese president , thus securing sufficient time for fine-tuning opinions among the leaders.

Hatoyama also extracted a reply on his plan for an East Asian community. President Lee agreed that Hatoyama has put forward a very desirable conception. Analysts suggest, however, China’s response appears to be an important variable here, given that various plans in the past for East Asian blocs have failed to actualize due to stumbling blocks due to differences among China and Japan and the U.S.

Friday’s summit produced no tangible results regarding issues of historical redress between South Korea and Japan. However, Hatoyama said, “I have only been prime minister for three weeks, so I would like to have some more time to deal with this matter,” while simultaneously emphasizing his intention to actively seek a solution as an individual and his difficulties as prime minister. Observers are interpreting his statement as a call for South Korea to have faith and patience, as some time is required for him to establish a positive public opinion in Japan on the matter and to harmonize opinions within the government.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]