Japan's Foreign Policy Dilemma vis-à-vis North Korea---the Abduction Issue, the Nuclear Issue, and Diplomatic Normalization.

The purpose of this paper is to examine Japan’s relations with North Korea which have been deadlocked for a long time. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a visit to Pyongyang in September 2002 and held a summit meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-Il, and signed the “Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration”. Since then Japan has made a continuous effort to normalize diplomatic relations with North Korea. It is Japan’s desire to put the abduction issue, the nuclear and security issue, and the normalization issue on the same table and solve all these problems in a comprehensive manner. To North Korea, on the other hand, the normalization issue is the top priority, as they demand a full apology and adequate compensation for Japan’s colonial past. Meanwhile, North Korea’s repeated nuclear testing and launching of missiles over the Sea of Japan has dampened the negotiating process. The Six-Party Talks intended to halt North Korea’s nuclear development are coming to a stalemate. Furthermore, U.S. economic sanctions and North Korea’s efforts to retrieve money once frozen in a Macau bank have complicated the whole situation.This paper will, first, examine differences in priorities in foreign policy between Japan and North Korea. Second, the paper will focus on the reasons why the Six-Party Talks are not making the progress expected toward North Korea’s denuclearization. Third, the conflicting interests and differences among the five countries toward North Korea will be analyzed. Finally, different alternatives regarding the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea will be considered. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]