Chronologies
Japan - Korea
Chronology from Apr 2004 to Jul 2004
: Pacific Forum President Ralph Cossa ties the knot!
: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun in luncheon with Japanese lawmakers commends Koizumi’s efforts as critical to the marginally better prospects at the end of the third round of six-party talks.
: Japanese envoy Yabunaka and DPRK Vice FM Kim Gye Gwan hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the six-party talks to discuss the family reunion of former abductee Soga Hitomi.
: Six-party talks on DPRK nuclear dismantlement held in Beijing.
: Six-party working-level talks begin in Beijing on DPRK nuclear crisis.
: North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 arrives at Niigata.
: FM Kawaguchi expresses hope that North Korea’s negotiating position at upcoming six-party talks will reflect the forward-leaning stance of Kim Jong-il during his May 22 summit with PM Koizumi.
: Diet enacts legislation authorizing ban on port calls by ships deemed to pose a security threat, specifically targeting DPRK vessels.
: Kyodo News reports that a senior member of the pro-DPRK Chosen Soren residents’ association in Japan will participate with the North Korean delegation for normalization talks with Japan.
: G8 summit chairman’s statement expresses support for Japanese efforts to resolve abductee problem with North Korea.
: President Bush and PM Koizumi hold working-level lunch at Sea Island prior to G8 summit. Bush praises Koizumi’s efforts on the economy and on supporting multilateral process with North Korea.
: Yabunaka meets with PRC and ROK counterparts at Hakone, says six-party talks could be delayed until July.
: In interview with The New York Times, Koizumi says that he told Kim Jong-il that North Korea must dismantle its nuclear weapons program and resolve abductions issue if it wants normalization with Japan and economic support.
: FM Kawaguchi expresses hope to hold sideline meeting on abductee issue with North Korean counterpart Paek Nam Sun at July ARF meeting in Jakarta.
: Kyodo News reports that Beijing offered to host reunion of Soga family in China as an attempt to spur a breakthrough in Japan-DPRK talks.
: Nihon Keizai reports that ROK officials believe North Korean No-dong missile deployments can strike anywhere in Japan, including Okinawa where U.S. forces are deployed.
: Diet bill banning port calls by North Korean ships passes House of Representatives transportation committee with the support of the ruling coalition and the largest opposition party.
: Yabunaka Mitoji, director general of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, states in sessions of Foreign Affairs Committee that if North Korea conducts a missile test, Japan would not provide food aid promised at the Koizumi-Kim summit.
: Japan-ROK fishing vessel alteration off Japan’s Tsushima Islands.
: ROK FM praises Koizumi’s meeting with Kim for helping reduce tensions on the Peninsula and in the reigon.
: PM Koziumi visits Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
: DPRK ferry Mangyongbong-92 leaves Niigata for Wonsan with 80 tons of humanitarian relief supplies for victims of April 22 train explosion in the DPRK.
: Chief Cabinet Secretary Hosoda Hiroyuki announces that Koizumi will not meet abductees before his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Says he will meet them when he returns.
: Kyodo News reports that number of claims by overseas atomic bomb survivors has increased from 112 to over 800 this year after a 2002 court ruling in favor of an ROK atomic bomb survivor seeking government compensation with treatments.
: Six-party working group meetings held in Beijing.
: NGO advocates on behalf of abductees in Japan protest rumored visit of Koizumi to North Korea.
: DPRK ferry Mangyongbong-92 arrives at Niigata port amid protests by abductee’s groups (third visit of the year by the ferry).
: Japanese Coast Guard turns back Japanese ultraconservative group’s attempt to land on disputed Tokdo/Takeshima rocks.
: Japanese and North Korean delegates meet in Beijing for discussions on abduction issue and proposal for a visit by Koizumi to Pyongyang.
: 4,000 rally in downtown Tokyo calling for Japanese government to take a harder line on DPRK abduction issue.
: State Department annual report on global terrorism mentions abduction issue for the first time as part of the context in which the DPRK remains on the state sponsors of terrorism list.
: Jong Thae-hwa, DPRK chief negotiator on Japan, calls for the return of the Japanese abductees to North Korea.
: Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) head Charles Kartman visits Japan to discuss the suspended project to build two light-water nuclear reactors.
: Vice President Cheney Asia tour to Japan, China, and South Korea.
: Fukuoka District Court rules that Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro’s August 2001 visit to Yasukuni Shrine was unconstitutional.
: Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG) meeting in San Francisco to discuss working-level talks on DPRK nuclear crisis attended by Yabunaka Mitoji, director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan’s Foreign Ministry, South Korean Deputy FM Lee Soo-hyuck, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly.
: ROK FM Ban Ki-moon and Japanese counterpart Kawaguchi hold phone conversation to discuss working level six-party talks on North Korea.
: Japan Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Yoriko announces Japan will hold trilateral talks with the ROK and Japan on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in July.