S Korea's nuclear envoy to visit Japan
TOKYO —
South Korea’s newly appointed envoy to the stalled six-nation talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs will visit Japan this week to discuss a joint strategy for getting the North to come back to the negotiating table.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lim Sung-nam, who took on the job last week, will visit Japan from Oct 13-15 and have talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shinsuke Sugiyama.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is in Washington this week to discuss North Korea with President Barack Obama.
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16 Comments
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1
smithinjapan
Note to Japan: these are talks on denuclearization, NOT the abduction issue. So please save bringing that up for bilateral discussions with the North. Good luck to both nations and the US in getting them back to the table.
-1
YuriOtani
Not sure why Japan even wants to be in the talks. It is really none of our business and makes things worse not better. I can see the southern faction and America. It should be 3 way talks, China and Russia make any agreement impossible.
-1
OssanAmerica
Wheredoyou see anything abuiot abductions in the article smith? Besides, with an estimated 400 South Koreans having been abducted by North Korea, how do you know South Korea won't bring it up?
-2
OssanAmerica
"Not sure why Japan even wants to be in the talks."
Japan wants to be in the talks because it's right next door and a credible securoty concern. All the other 6-party talks mermbers want Japan to be in it because if the ultimate goal of Korean penninsula unification is ever reached it's going to require Japan's economic assistance, probably on a massive scale.
0
YuriOtani
OssanAmerica, Japan does not have the money. Let rich China pay for it all. They killed a lot more Koreans than Japan. Japan should have nothing to do with them and I mean NOTHING!
-1
Spidapig24
YuriOtani
So l guess you are not concerned with the fact that a rogue nation 1000 km away may have nuclear weapons and a method to deliver them. Even if they dont target Japan (which they will because of the US troops) if used it would still affect your country. That there is a good reason to be involved.
-1
nigelboy
Note to Smith: That's what Japan has been doing all this time. At least now you acknowledge the fact that there are separate working groups among the six nation talks.
Progress!!
-1
OssanAmerica
"Japan should have nothing to do with them and I mean NOTHING!"
Well I'm glad the people running the country are more realistic than you and take national security and defense more seriously. In the last few years JASDF has acquired in air refueling capability for their F-15s. They practiced over Alaskan airspace with the USAF. Can you guess what possible potential targets would require such a capability?
0
YuriOtani
OssanAmerica, it is not Japans war. The Americans policy has not worked and has created the most isolated paranoid country on Earth. You talk about "rouge" nations when there is Pakistan who hid the most wanted villain in history, has thermonuclear and the method to deliver them. I think that government is supporting the terrorists in Afghanistan. So what do the Americans do? Pay them billions of dollars, they are insane. Back to North Korea while the abductions were bad it must be kept in perspective. Is Japan going to allow this to get Japan in another war? No Japan should treat both factions of the Korean civil war equal. All of the hate speech, flag burning comes from the south and not north. However the south is Japan's friends? South Korea is NOT a friend of Japan, never has been and I think never will be a friend. Time for Japan to mind our own business. For God's sake the bottom is out of the tub. We need to mend our wounds from 311.
0
zichi
YuriOtani,
while N.Korea has four or five nuclear weapons and missiles to carry which can reach Japan, it will remain the serious business of Japan.
0
YuriOtani
zichi, China has over 200, Russia has over 2500 and the north has maybe 5 very low yield devises. These are large clumsy bombs. Oh the American "friends" Pakistan has over 100 advance nukes. Second we can shoot down their missiles. Not one will get through to its target and the Americans would nuke the crap out of them in return. Really why should Japan help the southern faction of the civil war side? The civil war is not Japans war and by our constitution, we are prohibited from helping the south. If the rich larger population south can not beat off a smaller starving north, they deserve to lose.
0
zichi
YuriOtani,
it's of benefit to all the countries of the region, Russia, China, N.korea, S.Korea, Japan, and America to have a stable situation. Pakistan isn't in the mix.
N.Korea is ruled by a military dictator with an army of one million. It's the only country to have issued threats against Japan, and test fired missiles over the country.
It's important that all the countries continue talks and find the answer for N.Korea to give up it's nuclear weapons.
0
sfjp330
zichiOct. 15, 2011 - 03:30AM JST. It's of benefit to all the countries of the region, Russia, China, N.korea, S.Korea, Japan, and America to have a stable situation. N.Korea is ruled by a military dictator with an army of one million. It's the only country to have issued threats against Japan, and test fired missiles over the country. It's important that all the countries continue talks and find the answer for N.Korea to give up it's nuclear weapons.
Subtle measures will not work. China's goal is to keep Korea divided. Taking into consideration the current balance of power, unification is likely to lead to absorption of the impoverished North by the rich South. For China it might mean the emergence of a stronger U.S. ally, at least, another ‘unruly democracy’ right on its border. China would prefer to maintain North Korea as a strategic buffer zone. The NK government does not care that much about the economy or even about the survival of its own population. China does have leverage when it comes to dealing with the North. What China has is a hammer.
0
CrazyJoe
I believe China is worried about the influx of North Korean refugees that will flood China if war breaks out in the peninsula.
0
YuriOtani
zichi, the north is no real threat to Japan. So they have made threats. China and Russia have both made military threats against Japan. We are 15 to 30 minutes away from total destruction. I do not trust either of them to keep the peace. China and Russia would be happy to kill all of the people of Japan. They hold grudges and the only thing that keeps them from killing all of us is the USA. The north is a military joke and needs to be treated as such. About north well it is none of our business, let the south worry about them. The south hates us at least as much as the north if not more. Why should we put our neck out for them?
0
tmtmsnb
Japanese can see the threat from NK and China. (Why threat? Well, because the target---Japan---is there). It's just that they also see the busybody USA is there, too, which is perfectly convenient for them.
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