(3 of 3)
The dtente couldn't come at a more vital time for Northeast Asia. A
nuclear
North Korea must be met by joint action from China, South Korea and Japan,
and
that seems more possible this week than it has for years. When North Korea
tested missiles in July, Japan and its two neighbors found themselves
on
opposite sides of the issue, with Tokyo favoring stern measures and Beijing
and
Seoul preferring a light response. When Abe, then Chief Cabinet Secretary,
publicly raised the (unlikely) possibility of Japan launching a pre-emptive
strike on North Korea, Beijing and Seoul reacted as if it had been Tokyo
that
was lobbing missiles, excoriating Japan. This time around, the three
countries
are standing as one, at least rhetorically. "There were no differences
between
me and the Japanese prime minister on this issue," said Roh on Monday
evening,
adding that South Korea may end its "sunshine policy" of engagement with
the
North, long a source of friction with Tokyo and Washington.
But it will take more then rhetoric to stop Kim Jong Il, and after Abe goes
back to Tokyo Monday night, the reality will set in that Japan, China and
South
Korea still have very different attitudes toward North Korea. Despite their
hard words this weekend, both Beijing and Seoul will almost certainly
remain
reluctant to squeeze Pyongyang — for them, a nuclear North Korea may still
be
preferable to a collapsing one. Tokyo, meanwhile, will if anything demand an
even
harder line than the U.S., because Japan sits squarely in the range of
North
Korean missiles. Different threat levels may demand different, and even
conflicting responses, and North Korea could end up splitting Northeast
Asia
more seriously than Yasukuni. But at least now, Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul
will
be able to talk it over.
