By Clint Richards
Talks show that Japan has created an interesting, if short-term window of opportunity.
Bilateral discussions between the North Korea, South Korea and Japan have been gathering pace as of late, with the U.S. weighing in when and where it feels its interests are concerned. Many of these discussions are part of normal, preplanned activity, but a few are noteworthy in either their infrequency or implications. The Korean Peninsula is the center for all these talks, as regional forces bend relationships in familiar and unexpected directions in turn.
Japan’s relationship with both countries has seen some of the most interesting changes lately. As The Diplomat has previously noted, Japan and North Korea are currently conducting investigations into Japanese citizens abducted in the 1970s and 80s. This level of cooperation has been exceedingly rare over the past decade. Relations between Japan and South Korea have also been cool, especially since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power and visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine that houses war criminals from the Second World War. This week, however, the two countries announced two new meetings: one between their foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum next month in Myanmar, and another this week in Tokyo between their top nuclear envoys to discuss the resumption of six-party talks. The meeting in Myanmar would be the first between the current foreign ministers, and the Tokyo meeting will be the first time in almost four years that South Korea’s nuclear envoy will have visited Japan. While probably not directly linked to Japan’s recent talks with North Korea, Seoul is more than likely concerned with losing leverage over Pyongyang, and will want to redirect regional efforts back toward confronting North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Read the full story at The Diplomat