SUNSHINE POLICY REACHES KOREAN COMMUNITY IN JAPAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 002718 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL JA KS KN SUBJECT: SUNSHINE POLICY REACHES KOREAN COMMUNITY IN JAPAN Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JOSEPH R. DONOVAN. REASONS: 1.4 (b),( d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY On Wednesday May 17, 2006 Ha Byung Ok, leader of the pro-South Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) and So Man Sul, leader of the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chosen Soren): -- Signed a joint statement calling for reconciliation between their two organizations. -- Pledged their combined efforts to advance the rights and welfare of Korean residents in Japan. -- Announced their joint participation in a June 14 event marking the anniversary of the North-South summit, and plan to co-host an event on August 15 to commemorate the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's colonial rule in 1945. ¶2. (C) Embassy contacts agree this announcement is primarily the result of an overall improvement in relations between the two organizations that began with the North-South summit in 2000, leading to the February election of Ha Byung Ok by "younger, more reform-minded members" who have now taken over the Mindan. Both Mindan and the Chosen Soren also share a sense of crisis over their decreasing membership. For while it is estimated that there are now 600,000 ethnic Koreans living in Japan, that number is shrinking by approximately 10,000 a year. END SUMMARY. NORTH, SOUTH KOREAN RESIDENTS RECONCILE -------------- ¶3. (C) On the morning of Wednesday May 17, 2006, leaders of the pro-South Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) and the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chosen Soren) met for the first time in an attempt to reconcile a half century of serious disagreement. At that meeting, which took place at the Chosen Soren headquarters building in Tokyo, Mindan leader Ha Byung Ok and Chosen Soren leader So Man Sul signed a joint statement calling for reconciliation between the two organizations and pledged their combined efforts to advance the rights of Korean residents in Japan. (See para 11 for Embassy translation of the statement). The two organizations also announced their joint participation in a June 14 event to be held in Gwangju, South Korea, marking the anniversary of the historic North-South summit and their plan to co-host an event on August 15 to commemorate the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's colonial rule in 1945. While the two groups have no plans to create a combined organization for the time being, they have agreed to establish a consultative group to discuss issues of mutual concern and to work together to promote the education, culture and welfare of their members. REASONS BEHIND THE RECONCILIATION -------------- ¶4. (C) Embassy contacts in the Mindan and Chosen Soren, at the ROK Embassy and Foreign Ministry, as well as in academic circles all agree that today's announcement is primarily the result of a gradual improvement in relations between the two organizations that began with the North-South summit in June 2000; a ripple from the change in the South Korean government's policy toward the North that has now reached the Korean residents in Japan. It is felt this reconciliation may well have occurred some years earlier were it not held off by worsening public sentiment against the regime in Pyongyang following Kim Jong-il's admission in September 2002 that North Korean agents had abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. ¶5. (C) Young Ji Kang, Assistant Secretary General of the Mindan and the chief of its Planning & Adjusting Board, explained that while many of the older Mindan members opposed reconciliation with the Chosen Soren because of their disdain for the DPRK regime, "younger, more reform-minded members" have gradually become more active in the organization, resulting in the surprise election last February of Ha Byong Ok as the new Mindan leader. Han won the majority of the vote cast by the Mindan's 600 representatives in Japan on a TOKYO 00002718 002 OF 003 reform policy platform that, according to Kang, included a call to unite all Korean residents in Japan, regardless of their previous affiliations. ¶6. (C) Well known expert on Korea Hajime Izumi said he has been aware that a reconciliation process has been underway for some time, based on information from his "friends in the Chosen Soren," but that he had understood these were merely low-level discussions. He called today's announcement a big surprise, but went on to say that in the larger context of North-South relations this latest development is not at all surprising. South Korean attitudes have tilted towards the North ever since the election of Kim Dae-jung in 1997 and the subsequent inauguration of his Sunshine Policy, Professor Izumi explained. MOVE MAY CAUSE SOME SPLIT IN THE MINDAN -------------- ¶7. (C) Many Mindan members remain critical of Han's reconciliation policy, but Kang insists no serious split will occur within the Mindan ranks. Kosei Murota, Principal Deputy of the Northeast Asia Division and MOFA's point of contact on this issue agrees, but adds that "a small number" of Mindan members will most certainly refuse to join with the Chosen Soren owing to their serious differences with the DPRK regime. How many members choose to break with the organization remains to be seen, but we believe it important to note that Korean organizations are generally not single issue lobby groups, but rather community organizations through which business is conducted, marriages are arranged, and other social interactions take place. Although serious disagreements may exist within the organization, it would be extreme for Korean residents to voluntarily cut themselves off from their community on a matter of political principle. Professor Izumi agreed that large numbers of Mindan members are unlikely to break with their organization solely over the move to reconcile with Chosen Soren. The bigger question, he pointed out, is whether Mindan-affiliated businesses will be willing to go beyond funding local projects that assist Korean residents and consider sending assistance directly to the DPRK in the future. IMPLICATIONS -------------- ¶8. (C) Keio University professor Masao Okonogi characterized the announcement as another sign of the generational change in South Korean thinking toward the North. He cautioned against viewing the day's events as more significant than that, pointing out that both organizations will remain fundamentally separate and are primarily concerned with improving the situation faced by resident Koreans vis-a-vis Japanese society as a whole. They are expected to take a common approach on issues such as denouncing PM Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, speaking out against Japan's stance on the Liancourt Rocks, and will take a more concerted approach toward such issues as local suffrage for permanent foreign residents. ¶9. (C) Beyond that, it is unclear whether growing cooperation between the Mindan and Chosen Soren will make it more difficult for the Japanese government to apply pressure on North Korea. Speaking for the Japanese government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe stated on May 16 that this development involves relations between two private institutions, and so the Government of Japan will not be issuing any official comment. He added, however, that Japan's Public Security Investigative Agency (PSIA) would continue to watch the movements of the Chosen Soren in the interest of public safety. ¶10. (C) EMBASSY COMMENT: We agree with the consensus view voiced by our various contacts that this development is primarily the result of a gradual improvement in relations between the two organizations that reflects the overall thaw over the past eight years between North and South Korea. It is also not surprising that these two previously bickering groups may have decided to put aside some of their differences because they find common cause in opposing the Japanese government on historical issues of concern. What is certain is that both groups share a sense of crisis over TOKYO 00002718 003 OF 003 their decreasing membership. An estimated 600,000 ethnic Koreans without Japanese citizenship currently reside in Japan, but the number is shrinking by approximately 10,000 a year, due primarily to Korean marriages to Japanese citizens and the loss of younger members who, no longer feeling strong ties to their Korean homeland as intensely as their parents did, opt to take Japanese nationality. ¶11. (U) Mindan-Chosen Soren May 17 Joint Statement: BEGIN TEXT OF JOINT STATEMENT: Mindan - Chongron May 17 Joint Statement Amid great expectations and interests of fellow Korean residents in Japan, the delegation of Korean Residents Union in Japan Head Office headed by Leader Ha Byung Ok visited General Association of Korean Residents Head Office on May 17, 2006. The delegation of Mindan Head Office led by Leader Ha Byung Ok and the delegation of Chongron Head Office led by Leader So Man Sul realized a historical meeting and held talks. At the meeting, in accordance with philosophy of "Our ethnic fellow " articulated in the 6.15 Joint Statement and in line with trends of ethnic history towards ethnic solidarity and unification, Mindan and Chongron confirmed with each other that they would firmly shift long-term antagonism and confrontation between the two groups to reconciliation and concord. In line with demands and orientation of fellow Korean residents in Japan, Mindan and Chongron expressed their intentions to build a friendly and affluent community and contribute to ethnic great achievement for unification and prosperity of homeland in the 21st century, and they made the following agreements: ¶1. Mindan and Chongron agreed to achieve reconciliation and concord between the two groups and cooperate with each other for ethnic solidarity of a community of fellow Korean residents in Japan. ¶2. Mindan and Chongron agreed to actively join ethnic campaigns to implement 6.15 South-North Joint Statement and participate in a great celebration of 6.15 ethnic unification as the delegation member of the regional committee in Japan. ¶3. Mindan and Chongron agreed to co-host a festival to commemorate 8.15 (Note: The day of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's colonial rule in 1945) ¶4. Mindan and Chongron agreed to look at somber reality, i.e. the phenomena that fellow Korean residents in Japan are increasingly losing ethnicity, and jointly make efforts to work on projects such as education for the new generation and promotion of culture with the aim of firmly defending and boosting ethnicity. ¶5. Mindan and Chongron agreed to work together for fellow Korean resident community's welfare, such as measures countering aging and declining birth rate, and protecting their interests. ¶6. Mindan and Chongron agreed to implement the above-mentioned agreements and set up a point of contact to discuss issues raised by the two groups as needed. May 17, 2006 Ha Byung Ok, Leader, Head office, Korean Residents Union in Japan So Man Sul, Leader, General Association of Korean Residents END TEXT OF JOINT STATEMENT DONOVAN