§The Japanese Government’s Efforts to Define its Peacebuilding Role on the Korean Peninsula and Beyond are not Evident
Worrying developments have become evident in the implementation of the agreements on the Korean Peninsula’s denuclearization.
A
commentary entitled, “When does the US wake up from foolish greed and daydream?”
by Kwon Jong Gun, director of the Institute for American Studies of the Foreign
Ministry of the DPRK [1], appeared
on November 2, 2018 on the Korean Central News Agency’s news site. It implied that
DPRK criticism of the US stance in negotiations with North Korea has escalated one
step further. Although with reservations, the commentary mentioned for the
first time the possibility of a change in DPRK’s policy, a change which had not
been mentioned in commentaries posted during October.
Refraining
from directly criticizing US President Trump, the commentary stated that evidence
of US efforts to improve US-DPRK relations cannot not be found, and attacked “high-ranking
officials of the White House and the US administration.” Concerning the
Singapore summit, Director Kwon said that, “What top leaders of the DPRK and
the US promised at (the) historic Singapore meeting in June (by) shaking hands,
is to put an end to the hostile relations of centuries between the DPRK and the
US and (to) make a new history of improving relations.” The commentary underscored
that the core of the Singapore summit, hailed by the whole world, is that the two
countries agreed to make a new history of improving their relations. And, concerning
the current US stance which has only stressed the need for sanctions and
pressure on the DPRK, Kwon said, “The improvement of relations and sanctions
are incompatible” and, “’Friendship’ is inconsistent with ‘pressure’.” Additionally,
Kwon questioned whether, “the nuclear issue of the DPRK is really a sore spot
that caused all the complicated problems including the tension on the Korean Peninsula
and the bedeviled DKRP-US relations.”
Then
Kwon argued that taking into account the historic background of the nuclear
issue, “the DPRK-US negotiations should be (a) simultaneous and phased course
based on reciprocity and equality.” Kwon stated that based on this stance, “Now
that we gave all things possible to the US, things it hardly deserves, by
taking proactive and good-will measures, what remains to be done is the US corresponding
reply.” The DPRK demands that the US take action and, “Unless there is any reply,
the DPRK will not move even 1 mm, how costly it may be.”
As
described above, there is a point of particular interest in director Kwon’s
commentary. Choosing his words carefully, he implies that the DPRK has almost
reached the limit of its patience. In other words, the commentary states that
if the US remains arrogant without showing any change in its position, the DPRK
may “add one thing to the state line for directing all efforts to the economic
construction adopted (in the Plenary Meeting of Central Committee of Workers’
Party of Korea) in April and as a result, the word ‘pyongjin’ ((which means) ‘simultaneously
conducting economic construction and building up nuclear forces’) may appear
again and the change of the line could be seriously reconsidered.”
We
are working on the Watch Project in hopes that agreement on the Korean
Peninsula’s denuclearization will be implemented without being derailed. Examining
the current situation based on this objective, we would like to point out that at
this point the following two factors that have a role in preventing US-DPRK
relations from deteriorating further. ① The North and South Korean governments have
continued efforts to restore inter-Korean relations in accordance with the 2018
Inter-Korean summit agreements and have been making progress. ② Good US-South
Korea relations have been maintained. It is important for civil society in the
US, South Korea and Japan to accurately analyze this situation so as to appreciate
and encourage efforts made by the North and South Korean governments,
especially the role of the South Korean government that has been involved in
both diplomatic processes.
In
addition, civil society of the three countries needs to take note of the fact
that the Japanese government has not, as yet, appeared on a diplomatic stage where
it would naturally be expected to be. If the Japanese government had appeared
on the stage with intention of getting involved in the peacebuilding process of
Northeast Asia, there could be the possibility that those of us in civil
society would have gained another influential country, which could be useful in
dealing with current difficult circumstances.
However,
unfortunately, the current reality of the
Japanese government has fallen far short of such expectations.
As
described in Watch Report 1, in his policy speech at the extraordinary Diet
session after the cabinet reshuffle on October 24, Prime Minister Abe said, “Now
it’s my turn to meet face to face with Chairman Kim Jong-Un. I will seek to
break the shell of distrust, resolve the abduction issue, nuclear, and missile
issues, settle the unfortunate past, and normalize Japan’s relations with the
DPRK.”
However,
in subsequent Japanese politics, almost no effort to demonstrate his words can
be found. Not only in the Abe administration, but in the Diet, overall debate
on the Korean Peninsula issue has been low key. At the start of the House of
Councilors Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, Minister for Foreign
Affairs Taro Kono stated as follows, and the policy expressed was related only to
the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.
“It is
important that the summit agreement written clearly in the joint statement at
the Singapore summit between the US and the DPRK, including North Korea’s
commitment toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, is
completely and immediately implemented, and it is indispensable to ensure the
full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions by all countries of the
UN.” [2]
Also,
at the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, when asked about the
nature of his recognition of the DPRK’s current situation, Foreign Minister Kono
answered that the threat of North Korea remained unchanged and underscored the
importance of the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.
“Since the
Singapore Summit, North Korea has not conducted nuclear and missile tests, but
the situation remains unchanged where North Korea still possesses a number of Rodong
missiles and its nuclear weapons program has considerably advanced. As
perception that North Korea still poses the threat to international community remains
unchanged, I’d like to continue to maintain the current situation of concerted international
efforts wherein the international community fully implements the relevant UN
Security Council resolutions while maintaining solidarity for the realization
of North Korea’s CVID (complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement) of
nuclear weapons and missiles.” [3]
It’s
not an exaggeration to say that the Japanese government’s policy, which has
been articulated thus far, is limited to the obsolete policy of strict
implementation of sanctions against the DPRK based on UN Security Council
resolutions, and has stayed unchanged since before the historic Singapore summit
was held.
In
particular, the Japanese government has been actively engaged in a crackdown on
sanctions evasion through illicit ship-to-ship transfers by DPRK vessels. In
November, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a press release
concerning ship-to-ship transfers, in which the following position of MOFA is
stated.
“Japan
considers that the international community needs to fully implement the
relevant UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) while maintaining solidarity
for the realization of North Korea’s dismantlement of all weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) and ballistic missiles of all ranges in a complete,
verifiable, and irreversible manner. In this regard, Japan welcomes and highly appreciates
the efforts made by partner countries to that end. Japan will continue to work
closely with all partner countries to ensure effectiveness of the relevant
UNSCRs.”[4]
Unfortunately,
regarding denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, what has been communicated
positively by Japan’s MOFA to civil society in Japan is limited to efforts to
put pressure on the DPRK by ensuring the implementation of UN Security Council
resolutions, as described above. In late November, one of the authors of this
report spoke at a symposium held by an NGO in Tokyo at which a mid-level official
of MOFA’s Disarmament, Non-proliferation and Science Department was invited to speak
as well. The position of the MOFA concerning the North Korean nuclear issue as explained
to the audience during the symposium was, “Nothing is more important than
urging the UN member states to implement UN Security Council resolutions.” The
statement fails to recognize the obligations on both sides.
Does
Japan MOFA recognize that the US and the DPRK agreement at the Singapore summit
contains not only DPRK’s “commitment to complete denuclearization,” but also a US
“commitment to providing security guarantees to the DPRK”? Dose it recognize
that to fully realize the summit agreements, the implementation of both sides’
commitments needs to advance simultaneously?
As
debate on this issue in the Diet is lacking, it will be vitally important for not
only Japanese citizens, but also worldwide citizens interested in this issue, to
receive clear answers to these questions. Fortunately, at the launch of the
Watch Project, the Peace Depot was able to meet and exchange opinions with a high-ranking
official, the number two figure of MOFA’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau which
oversees this issue. The official’s answer to these questions was clear. He
replied, “We’re aware that the agreement contains both sides’ commitments. I
can’t tell you the details, but we have maintained close contact with the US
with such a recognition.”
The answer meets only minimum requirements, but must be considered good news to
citizens. (Takuya MORIYAMA and Hiromichi UMEBAYASHI)
[1] “Institute
for American Studies of DPRK Foreign Ministry Urges U.S. to Abandon Foolish
Daydream” KCNA, November 2, 2018.
[2] Foreign
Minister Taro KONO’s statement at House of Councilors Committee on Foreign
Affairs and Defense, Japanese Diet Minutes, November 13, 2018 (in
Japanese).
[3] Foreign
Minister Taro KONO’s response at House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs, Japanese Diet Minutes, November
14, 2018 (in Japanese).
[4] Press
Release “Monitoring and surveillance activities by concerned states against
illicit maritime activities including ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean
flagged vessels prohibited by UNSCRs”, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Japan, November 6, 2018
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