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Japan, DPRK End Normalization Talks Without Breakthrough
Negotiators from Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday concluded the final day of their two-day second round of normalization talks in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, with no breakthrough on key issues.
The two sides failed to bridge the gap on ways to settle past issues, including the alleged abduction of Japanese nationals by DPRK agents in the 1970s and 1980s and the DPRK's demand for compensation for Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Ambassador Kojiro Takano, who led the Japanese negotiating team, offered to extend economic cooperation to the DPRK, instead of compensation, for Japan's colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula, a move aimed at finding a compromise when the next talks take place in October, Kyodo News quoted a government official as saying.
Ambassador Jong Thae Hwa, who headed the DPRK delegation, did not give any outright response and maintained the basic position of seeking compensation to "liquidate the past" between the two nations, the official said.
The two-day session began on Tuesday in Tokyo. After a one-day break, it moved to Kisarazu in neighboring Chiba Prefecture.
The two countries clashed over compensation and abduction issues in the first round of their negotiations in April in Pyongyang. The April talks followed an eight-year suspension of normalization talks, which collapsed in 1992 after eight rounds.
Jong reiterated that the settlement of the past should be treated as a priority issue under a four-point package he proposed in April, the official said.
The four points are an official written apology, compensation to satisfy DPRK people, compensation for damaged or stolen cultural assets, and an assurance of the legal status of DPRK national's permanently residing in Japan.
Takano maintained that Japan agrees to liquidate the past, but repeated its rejection of war-time reparations on the grounds that Japan and Korea were not at war during the colonial period, the official said.
Takano ruled out any agreement that shelved the abduction issue by stressing that a normalization treaty "must gain wide public support" in order to be ratified by lawmakers, the official said.
Jong repeated that no such abductions took place, but promised to continue investigations into "missing persons" as the two countries earlier agreed in talks between Red Cross representatives.
The two sides agreed to meet again in October after improving their understanding of each other's positions and confirming their commitment to seek agreements during the next round, the official said.
The next meeting is likely to take place in Beijing, negotiation sources said.
The two sides issued a brief one-page statement Thursday spelling out the next schedule and confirming their commitments to facilitating the plenary normalization negotiations.
The DPRK delegation, which arrived in Japan Monday, is scheduled to head home on Friday morning.
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