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Yi Yong-in, Staff Writer and Jeong Nam-ku, Tokyo Correspondent 　　

A subtle war of nerves took place during Saturday’s meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara over North Korea-Japan dialogue. This came about because Japan only reluctantly agreed with South Korea’s call for inter-Korean talks to precede North Korea-Japan talks.

“Both our countries understood that inter-Korean ties should come first, and that inter-Korean relations should improve so that South Korea and Japan, and South Korea, the United States and Japan can restart talks with North Korea,” Kim said in a joint press conference at the Central Government Complex in Gwanghwamun following the meeting. “I look forward to North Korea-Japan dialogue based on this understanding.”

In adding this statement, Kim essentially called for North Korea-Japan dialogue to be postponed until there was progress into inter-Korean ties.

Maehara initially expressed agreement with South Korea-Japan cooperation, saying, “Inter-Korean dialogue must come first, considering matters such as the Yeonpyeong Island shelling.” He also added, “I do not believe dialogue between Tokyo and Pyongyang should be limited to convening the six-party talks, and bilateral talks should take place in an appropriate situation while considering movement in the six-party talks.”

This seems to indicate Tokyo could push for North Korea-Japan talks separate from the restart of the six-party talks only if certain conditions are met. In fact, the Mainichi Shimbun reported Sunday that Maehara told accompanying Japanese journalists Saturday night that under the principle that inter-Korean dialogue should come first, there could be some sort of contact between Tokyo and Pyongyang.

During a meeting with Korean scholars on Saturday morning, too, Maehara reportedly told participants that unlike the nuclear issue, which must be dealt with in the six-party talks, the abductee and missile issues were Japanese issues alone, and that he wanted to resolve Japan’s own particular issues through Tokyo-Pyongyang dialogue.

Maehara has openly stated several times this year that he would restart direct talks between North Korea and Japan. Quoting a Japanese official, the Asahi Shimbun reported Sunday that calls within the government to resolve Tokyo-Pyongyang relations, which stopped due to the abductee issue, have recently grown stronger. Some also feel Japan is predicting moves by the United States and China to restart dialogue, and that its moves are in order to secure the diplomatic initiative.

If Japan moves, the balance on the Korean Peninsula could tilt towards dialogue. China and North Korea have already welcomed Maehara’s plans for direct talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang. Predictions remain, however, that Japan’s independent moves will be limited.

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