Japan–North Korea Relations
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Japan–North Korea relations (; ) refers to
international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
between
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. Relations between Japan and North Korea have never been formally established, but there have been diplomatic talks between the two governments to discuss the issue of kidnapped Japanese citizens and North Korea's nuclear program. Relations between the two countries are severely strained and marked by tension and hostility. According to a 2014 BBC World Service poll, 91% of Japanese people view North Korea's influence negatively, with just 1% expressing a positive view; the most negative perception of North Korea in the world.


History

The Battle of Pyongyang and the Battle of the Yalu River became a major victory for the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
in September 1894 during the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
which then established as Chōsen and has renamed the city of Heijō with millions of
Zainichi Koreans () are ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan before 1945 and are citizens or permanent residents of Japan, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan since t ...
are forced to change their new Japanese names and languages into
Sōshi-kaimei was a policy of pressuring Koreans under Japanese rule to adopt Japanese names and identify as such. The primary reason for the policy was to forcibly assimilate Koreans, as was done with the Ainu and the Ryukyuans. The Sōshi-kaimei has been ...
as part of
Japanization Japanization or Japanisation is the process by which Japanese culture dominates, assimilates, or influences other cultures. According to ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', "To japanize" means "To make or become Jap ...
. Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910, two years before
Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...
, the founder of North Korea was born on 15 April 1912 in Mangyongdae, Man'gyŏngdae District. In the first years after the proclamation of the North Korean state, relations between Pyongyang and Tokyo were mostly hostile and practically non-existent. In 1949–1950, the North Korean leadership vehemently condemned the economic and political negotiations between Japan and the administration of
Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...
. Later, however, North Korea sought to take advantage of the conflict that erupted between Japan and South Korea over the Syngman Rhee Line. In response to the initiative of Japanese Prime Minister
Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and restored official ...
, who sought to achieve a rapprochement with the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and other Communist countries, in February 1955 North Korean Foreign Minister
Nam Il Nam Il (5 June 1915 – 7 March 1976) was a Russian-born North Korean military officer and co-signer of the Korean Armistice Agreement. Biography Nam was born Yakov Petrovich Nam () probably in the Russian Far East. Due to a Soviet policy, Na ...
issued a statement calling for economic and cultural cooperation with Japan. From 1955 to 1964, Japanese-North Korean economic relations underwent gradual expansion, partly because Pyongyang sought to prevent a Japanese-South Korean rapprochement by adopting a cooperative attitude toward Tokyo, and partly because North Korea tried to reduce its economic dependence on the Soviet Union. In 1955, North Korea assisted in establishing the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, Chongryon in Korean, which serves as an advocacy organization for ethnic Koreans in Japan who identify with the DPRK and acts as North Korea's ''de facto'' embassy in Japan. Voluntary repatriation of Korean residents from Japan to North Korea progressed slowly but smoothly after the conclusion of the Red Cross agreement of 1959. By late 1960, almost 50,000 of the estimated 600,000 Korean residents had arrived in North Korea aboard chartered Soviet ships. The repatriation program was extended for another year in October 1960 to accommodate the estimated 60,000 still wishing repatriation. In 1965, the North Korean government sharply criticized the
Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea The Treaty on Basic Relations Between Japan and the Republic of Korea ( Japanese: ; ) was signed on June 22, 1965. It established basic diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea. Background As Korea was not a signatory state of the T ...
. Under Prime Minister Eisaku Satō, Japanese-North Korean relations underwent a deterioration, but in 1971–1972, the process of Sino-Japanese rapprochement induced Japanese companies to broaden their economic cooperation with the DPRK. Under Prime Minister
Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who ...
, the Japanese government adopted a policy of equidistance toward North Korea and South Korea, and refused to take sides with Seoul against Pyongyang during the Mun Se-gwang affair. Nevertheless, it still refrained from establishing diplomatic relations with North Korea. Under
Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 to 1976. A native of Tokushima Prefecture, Miki was educated at Meiji University and the University of Southern California. He was first elected ...
and his successors, Japan switched back to a policy that clearly favored the ROK over the DPRK. The North Korean leadership felt increasingly isolated when Takeo Fukuda concluded the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China, and
Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1982 to 1987. His political term was best known for pushing through the privatization of state-owned companies and pursuing a hawkish and pro-U.S. fo ...
visited South Korea in 1983. In periods of Japanese-ROK cooperation and Japanese-DPRK friction, Pyongyang often expressed its dissatisfaction by raising the issue of the
Liancourt Rocks dispute The Liancourt Rocks dispute, also called the Dokdo dispute or the Takeshima dispute, is a territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan regarding sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan. The rocks ...
. Until the late 1980s, North Korea's policy toward Japan was mainly aimed at minimizing cooperation between South Korea and Japan, and at deterring Japan's rearmament while striving for closer diplomatic and commercial ties with Japan. Crucial to this policy was the fostering within Japan of support for North Korea, especially among the Japanese who supported the Japanese communist and socialist parties and the Korean residents of Japan. Over the years, however, North Korea did much to discredit itself in the eyes of many potential supporters in Japan. Japanese who had accompanied their spouses to North Korea had endured severe hardships and were prevented from communicating with relatives and friends in Japan. Japan watched with disdain as North Korea gave safe haven to elements of the
Japanese Red Army The was a militant communist organization active from 1971 to 2001. It was designated a terrorist organization by Japan and the United States. The JRA was founded by Fusako Shigenobu and Tsuyoshi Okudaira in February 1971, and was most acti ...
, which Japan designates as a terrorist group. North Korea's inability or refusal to pay its debts to Japanese traders also reinforced popular Japanese disdain for North Korea. Japan–North Korea relations turned more antagonistic in the late 1980s. The two governments did not maintain diplomatic relations and had no substantive contacts. The opposition
Japan Socialist Party The was a major socialist and progressive political party in Japan which existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was the primary representative of the Japanese left and main opponent of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party for most of its ex ...
nonetheless had cordial relations with the North Korean regime. Japan allowed trade with North Korea only through unofficial channels, reportedly exceeding US$200 million annually in the 1980s. Issues in Japan–North Korea relations that produced tensions included North Korean media attacks on Japan, Japan's imposition of economic sanctions on North Korea for terrorist acts against South Korea in the 1980s, and unpaid North Korean debts to Japanese enterprises of about $50 million. As of 2017, Japan–North Korea relations are at an all-time low after North Korea, on two separate occasions, test-launched nuclear capable ballistic missiles into Japanese waters. In January 2024, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un sent a
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...
to Japanese
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Fumio Kishida, sending his condolences for the victims of the 2024 Sea of Japan earthquake and wishing the Japanese people a fast recovery. It marks the first time Kim has sent his condolences after a
natural disaster A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...
, and the first time he has sent a telegram to Kishida.


Normalization talks

In the early 1990s, Japan conducted lengthy negotiations with North Korea aimed at establishing diplomatic relations while maintaining its relations with Seoul. In September 1990 Japanese political delegation led by former deputy Prime Minister Shin Kanemaru of the Liberal Democratic Party visited North Korea. Following private meetings between Kanemaru and North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, a joint declaration released on September 28 called for Japan to apologize and to compensate North Korea for its period of colonial rule. Japan and North Korea agreed to begin talks aimed at the establishment of diplomatic relations. In January 1991, Japan began normalization talks with Pyongyang with a formal apology for its 1910–45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The negotiations were aided by Tokyo's support of a proposal for simultaneous entry into the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
by North Korea and South Korea; the issues of international inspection of North Korean nuclear facilities and the nature and amount of Japanese compensations, however, proved more difficult to negotiate. Coincidental with the changing patterns in its relations with China and Russia, North Korea has moved to improve its strained relations with Japan. Pyongyang's primary motives appear to be a quest for relief from diplomatic and economic isolation, which has caused serious shortages of food, energy, and hard currency. Normalization of relations with Japan also raises the possibility of North Korea's gaining monetary compensation for the period of Japan's colonial rule (1910–45), a precedent set when Japan normalized relations with South Korea. The first round of normalization talks was held January 30–31, 1991, but quickly broke down over the question of compensation. Pyongyang has demanded compensation for damages incurred during colonial rule as well as for "sufferings and losses" in the post-World War II period. Japan, however, insists that North Korea first resolve its differences with South Korea over the question of bilateral nuclear inspections. Other points of contention are North Korea's refusal both to provide information about Japanese citizens who had migrated to North Korea with their Korean spouses in the 1960s, and the issue of Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by the Soviets during WWII and sent to North Korea.


Abductions

The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government occurred during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. For many years North Korea denied the abductions, but it admitted to 13 of them in 2002. In one instance, Yi Un Hee, a Korean resident of Japan, was kidnapped to North Korea to teach Japanese in a school for espionage agents. In 2002 and 2004, Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...
made two high-profile visits to Pyongyang to press for their return. North Korea eventually returned five of the thirteen kidnapped, claiming the other eight had died. The positive effect on relations disintegrated when Japan claimed that a DNA test had proved that the returned remains of Megumi Yokota, kidnapped at 13 and said by North Korea to have committed suicide, were in fact not hers. Japan has pressed North Korea to come clean on the abduction, but Pyongyang insists that the issue has already been resolved. Many North Korean citizens rely on money sent from relatives in Japan. Some in Japan believe that the government should threaten to cut off those remittances to force Pyongyang to make concessions. Others believe that the political right in Japan is exploiting that and other issues to advance its own nationalist agenda. US president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
brought up the issue at his meeting with
Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
at the request of the Japanese prime minister
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
and he said that "it will be worked on." On 29 March 2024, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui reaffirmed Pyongyang's position to refuse any communication with Japan, stating that engaging in dialogue with Tokyo is of no significance to her country. The minister expressed disapproval of Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida's commitment on 28 March 2024 to persist in addressing matters concerning North Korea, such as the historical abductions of Japanese citizens.


Other activity

There have been several confrontations between the two nations over North Korean clandestine activity in Japan besides the abductions, including drug smuggling, marine poaching, and spying. North Korean missile tests are a concern for Japan because the missiles sometimes travel through Japanese airspace and territory. In 1998, North Korea successfully fired a Taepodong-1 ballistic missile that crossed over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean. This test launch was viewed as an act of political defiance, as negotiations on the future of North Korea's nuclear program development were taking place between North Korea and the United States in New York. The two states held bilateral talks in September 2007, which were resumed in June 2008. On March 17, 2017, Japan held the first ever evacuation drill after North Korean missile tests. On the same day, President Trump told North Korea that it was “behaving very badly” shortly after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hinted at striking North Korea while on a visit to South Korea. In November 2019, North Korea's state media warned that Japan may see a real ballistic missile in the near future after the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Pyongyang's latest test of multiple-rocket launcher a ballistic missile launch. Later, in October 2021 and November 2022, North Korea launched more missiles that landed in Japanese waters. North Korea planned to test its missiles between May 31, 2023, and June 7, 2023, near the Sea of Japan. Japan said it will shoot down any missiles within a certain radius of its territory using its ballistic missile defense system. In the early months of 2024, significant developments emerged in the international relations between Japan and North Korea. Both countries have signaled a readiness to engage in high-level talks, a move that marks a departure from decades of hostility and minimal diplomatic contact. The discussions are anticipated to focus on pivotal issues such as the return of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea and the possibility of sanctions relief for Pyongyang, underscoring a mutual interest in altering the status quo of their relations. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan expressed his intent to hold a summit with Kim Jong Un, underscoring Japan's desire to resolve the abduction issue that has been a longstanding point of contention. This initiative is reflective of a broader strategic interest in improving bilateral relations and potentially easing regional tensions. On the North Korean side, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, has also voiced a positive outlook on the future of North Korea-Japan relations, hinting at the possibility of a historic meeting that could herald a new era of diplomatic engagement between the two countries.
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
have accused North Korean hackers of stealing
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...
worth over $300 million from the Japan-based exchange DMM Bitcoin. The theft was attributed to the TraderTraitor group, believed to be part of the Lazarus Group, which is allegedly linked to North Korean authorities. The incident occurred in late May 2024, involving the theft of 4,502.9
Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
. The theft involved the hackers using social engineering tactics to impersonate a recruiter on
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...
and send a malicious pre-employment test to an employee at a
crypto Crypto commonly refers to: * Cryptography, the practice and study of hiding information * Cryptocurrency, a type of digital currency based on cryptography Crypto or krypto may also refer to: Cryptography * Cryptanalysis, the study of methods f ...
wallet software company. This allowed them to compromise the employee's system and manipulate a legitimate transaction request from DMM, resulting in the loss of 4,502.9
Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
. The
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
and Japan's National Police Agency are collaborating to combat North Korea's cybercrime activities, which date back to the mid-1990s and include a cyber-warfare unit known as
Bureau 121 Bureau 121 () is a North Korean cyberwarfare agency, and the main unit of the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) of North Korea's military. It conducts offensive cyber operations, including espionage and cyber-enabled finance crime. Accord ...
. The Lazarus Group has previously gained notoriety for its involvement in high-profile hacks, including the 2014 cyberattack on
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
in retaliation for its production and distribution of '' The Interview'', a political satire which portrays the fictional assassination of Kim Jong Un.


Six-party talks

On February 13, 2007, the
six-party talks The six-party talks aimed to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. There was a series of meetings with six participating states in Beijing: * China * Japan * North Korea ...
produced an agreement in which North Korea agreed to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for fuel aid and steps towards normalization of relations with both the United States and Japan.


See also

* History of Japan–Korea relations * Japan–Korea disputes *
Japan–South Korea relations Japan–South Korea relations (; ) are the diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea. As the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait geographically separate the two nations, political interactions date back from the 6th century whe ...
*
Foreign relations of Japan The are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Japan maintains diplomatic relations with every United Nations member states, United Nations member state except for North Korea, in addition ...
*
Foreign relations of North Korea North Korea has diplomatic relations with 160 states. In the past, the country's foreign relations were marked by its conflict with South Korea and its historical ties to the Soviet Union. Both the government of North Korea and the government ...
* North Korean ghost ships * Japanese people in North Korea * Japan–North Korea Pyongyang Declaration


References

*


Further reading

* Cho Soon Sung (1967) "Japan's Two Koreas Policy and the Problems of Korean Unification," ''Asian Survey'' 7 (10): 703–725. * Linus Hagström and Marie Söderberg (2006
''North Korea Policy: Japan and the Great Powers''
London and New York: Routledge. * Linus Hagström and Marie Söderberg (2006
''The Other Binary: Why Japan–North Korea Relations Matter''
Special Issue of
Pacific Affairs ''Pacific Affairs'' (''PA'') is a Canadian peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues in Asia and the Pacific. The journal was founded in 1926 as the newsletter for th ...
79 (3). * Christopher W. Hughes (1999) ''Japan's Economic Power and Security: Japan and North Korea'Japan and North Korea. London: Routledge. * Kim Hong Un (2006) "The Koizumi Government and the Politics of Normalizing Japanese-North Korean Relations." Working Paper. Honolulu: East-West Center. * Seung K. Ko (1977), "North Korea's Relations with Japan Since Détente," ''Pacific Affairs'' 50 (1): 31–44. {{DEFAULTSORT:Japan-North Korea relations
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
Bilateral relations of North Korea
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
Relations of colonizer and former colony