earticle

영어

The Normalization processes between North Korea and Japan have been faced with various obstacles such as Japan's colonial compensation and repentance, North Korea's nuclear problem, and abduction issues. Although Prime Minister Koizumi desires normalization to be completed within his tenure, it seems improbable to be realized due to the difficulties of solutions to the problems of abduction and nuclear weapons. Japan has not formulated constructive North Korean policy due to worsening public opinions mainly caused by abduction of Japanese on the part of North Korea. Japan repeatedly stated that it would solve colonial compensation in the way it had done in the normalization treaty between South Korea and Japan. Treating colonial compensation as the issue of economic cooperation, Japan should tackle with sincerity such humanitarian issue as Japanese Army's comfort women. If Japan shows its maturity by trying to solve humanitarian problems, having not dealt with in the South Korea-Japan normalization treaty, it could be a starting point of sincere Korea-Japan rapprochement.