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China, S. Korea scrap Japan talks after Shrine visit
(bloomberg.com)
Updated: 2005-10-17 19:49
South Korea and China canceled government talks with Japan after Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Yasukuni Shrine, which includes memorials to
convicted war criminals.
A spokesman for South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun said the two leaders will
not meet as planned at next month's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting,
and that talks for a bilateral summit in December were off. China scrapped a
visit by Japan's foreign minister to Beijing on Oct. 23, Kyodo News said, citing
an unidentified Japanese diplomat in Beijing.
"At least on the surface, negotiations with South Korea and China will be
tougher," said Koji Murata, a professor of diplomacy at Doshisha University in
Kyoto. ``Koizumi needs to explain why he is doing this.''
Koizumi told reporters in Tokyo that he
made his visit as a private citizen and not in an official
capacity, saying that ``China and South Korea will eventually understand.''
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
arrives at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Monday, Oct. 17,
2005.[AP] |
Roh and Koizumi were scheduled to meet one-on-one during the APEC meeting in
Busan, South Korea, spokesman Kim Man Soo told reporters at the presidential
Blue House.
``We can no longer say that we're reviewing a summit for December,'' Kim
said. ``There will be no separate bilateral meeting between the two leaders
during the Busan APEC.''
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura was to visit China on Oct. 23,
Kyodo said. A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said he had not heard of any decision to cancel the meeting.
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