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Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon will visit Japan from Oct. 27 to 29 after all, the Foreign Ministry announced Monday, apparently to give his hosts a ticking off about persistent visits by top officials to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.
¡°The foreign minister will visit Japan to notify Tokyo of the government¡¯s position that relations between the two countries cannot develop beyond minimal dialogue channels if Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continues to pay his respects at the Yasukuni Shrine,¡± a senior official said. Japan¡¯s Asian neighbors oppose Japanese leaders¡¯ visit to the shrine, which honors convicted war criminals among the country¡¯s war dead and is an epicenter of historical revisionism. ¡°Minister Ban will also tell Tokyo that in this atmosphere the biannual summits between the two countries are unlikely to continue,¡± the official said.
Ban had been saying until last week it was inappropriate to visit Japan in the current climate. But he relented on Monday, saying, ¡°My visit to Japan was decided this morning. We have concluded that a specific issue should not become a stumbling block to bilateral relations between Korea and Japan.¡±
A ministry official said, ¡°We thought the foreign minister¡¯s visit to Japan was inappropriate last week when the Japanese prime minister paid his respects at the controversial shrine and anti-Japanese sentiment was at its peak in Korea. But as a result of a comprehensive review, we have decided that it is good to keep a diplomatic channel open.¡±
The senior government official said Ban will visit Japan to tell the Japanese leadership that their ¡°insufficient recognition¡± of their country¡¯s past atrocities does not help Seoul-Tokyo relations or peace in Northeast Asia. He will urge Tokyo to build another memorial facility to replace the shrine.
Another government official added, ¡°The notice means that Korean-Japanese summits will not be held until September next year, when Prime Minister Koizumi¡¯s tenure expires, unless Japan changes its attitude.¡±
However, the government is considering a summit on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan next month since Korea is the host country and summits with the U.S and China are scheduled, the official said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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