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S.Korea foreign minister to visit Japan this week

Posted on: Monday, 24 October 2005, 03:59 CDT

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign minister will visit Japan despite anger over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's war shrine pilgrimage, but a South Korean official said on Monday it was too early to resurrect a presidential trip.

Beijing and Seoul protested last week after Koizumi paid his respects at Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, seen by many in China and Koreans as a symbol of Japan's past militarism because war criminals as well as other war dead are honored there.

But confirmation of Ban Ki-moon's visit from October 27 to October 29 was taken in Tokyo as the latest sign that the furor may be dying down. Ban is to meet both Koizumi and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura.

Ban had said last Wednesday he did not think the mood was appropriate for such a trip. He was speaking after China called off a planned visit by Machimura.

South Korea has also said President Roh Moo-hyun was unlikely to meet Koizumi for their semi-annual summit. Tokyo has said it assumes the meeting is still on.

"We should be conveying directly and clearly our position on the Yasukuni shrine visit and the history issue through this visit," the South Korean official said, explaining the change.

Asked if Ban's trip meant Seoul would resume pursuing summit talks with Tokyo, the official said: "I cannot say that that is necessarily the case. We will have to give it some time to think about it."

The official was briefing reporters on condition of anonymity and did not elaborate.

"LEVEL-HEADED"

A South Korean newspaper, Hankook Ilbo, quoted an official as saying Seoul was ditching the idea of a summit until Koizumi leaves office unless Tokyo makes amends for the shrine visit.

Kyodo news agency quoted Koizumi as telling reporters on Monday he thought South Korea was being "level-headed" about his visit to the shrine on October 17, his fifth since taking office.

"Friendship between Japan and South Korea has not changed," Koizumi said, following a meeting with political ally Taku Yamasaki, who went to South Korea last week.

Media reports have said Yamasaki had some discussion in Seoul about setting up an alternative shrine to separate war dead from convicted criminals.

Asked about whether this would come up during Ban's visit, the South Korean official said: "I believe the issue must be raised."

Koizumi's pilgrimage threatened to worsen already strained ties with China, the scene of anti-Japanese protests in April. But no major boycotts or demonstrations have been seen so far.

Japanese business executives have also voiced concerns that the strains would damage economic relations between China and Japan, which have annual trade worth about $212 billion.

Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda was asked at a news conference to evaluate the reaction of South Korea and China in the week since Koizumi visited Yasukuni. He said it was not really his place to comment.

"But there is no change in Prime Minister Koizumi's wish to strengthen ties with our neighboring countries," he said.

(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo)

Source: REUTERS

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