The month of April, when general elections are held, is filled with the preparations for North Korea’s military parade and clandestine interactions for North Korea-Japan talks. Still, North Korea’s second reconnaissance satellite launch is also possible. Therefore, the geopolitical tension surrounding the Korean Peninsula is expected to continue.
In the meantime, movements for North Korea-China talks, China-Russia, and North Korea-Russia talks are expected to shake the future security order in Northeast Asia. The South Korean government is expected to raise its voice in the international community and increase efforts towards North Korea sanctions.
◇ North Korea-Japan talks…North Korea’s unilateral diplomatic tactics
According to diplomatic sources on the 31st, North Korean authorities have been continuing talks with Japan to create a rift in the alliance between South Korea, the United States, and Japan since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba. On the 29th, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui left a message saying she had no intention of resolving the issue of Japanese abductions in North Korea during the coordination process for the talks, saying, “I will refrain from commenting on everything.” Japan intends to make efforts according to its conventional policy to resolve current issues with North Korea, interpreted as being conscious of Kim Yo Jong’s speech on the 25th.
At that time, North Korea emphasized a “forward-looking attitude” towards Japan, which can be interpreted as North Korea considering that when North Korea-Japan talks are held, Japan should not interfere with North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, should recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed country, and should not bring up the issue of Japanese abductions.
Some argue that North Korea is showing a negative image to Japan. Still, this behavior of North Korea is a diplomatic tactic to gain the upper hand in coordinating talks. It would not have been mentioned if North Korea had not wanted to talk. An “early summit” was seen to be proposed to resolve the current issues after the summit through diplomatic channels separate from the North Korea-Japan dialogue.
The North Korean authorities have been announcing “anti-Japan speeches” by Kim Yo Jong, who is called “the spokesperson for foreign policy” of Kim Jong Un, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who oversees North Korea’s foreign policy, every three days, which is the evidence.
A South Korean government official said, “North Korea is continuously sending external messages to gain the upper hand in both visible and invisible sides,” and analyzed it as “a tug-of-war to grasp the initiative in the process of North Korea-Japan contact.”
If Japan responds to the ball thrown by North Korea and the talks are realized, it will be the “North Korea-Japan summit after 22 years” since the then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September 2002. The Japanese government claims that its 17 nationals were abducted to North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, and 12 of them are still in North Korea, but North Korea opposes that there is no problem to solve, saying that 8 of the 12 have died and 4 have never come.
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