Kim Diplomatic on Japan

President Kim Dae-jung said Thursday that he hopes Japan will work toward future-oriented cooperative relations with its neighbors based on a correct understanding of history.

During a speech delivered at a ceremony commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the March 1 independence movement against the Japanese colonial rulers, Mr. Kim said he had agreed with Japanese leaders in 1998 when he visited Japan that it was necessary to overcome the problems of history and to forge future-oriented relations.

A Blue House official explained that Mr. Kim's remark was an indirect expression of his discomfort with the planned authorization of distorted history textbooks in Japan. Some in the government thought it best for Mr. Kim to mention the textbook issue directly, but the doves prevailed in the end, the official said.

Another government source said that the development of an anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea is the last thing Mr. Kim wants at a time when a close coordination of policies between South Korea and Japan is vital for the reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas.

Some officials are concerned, however, that Japan may simply ignore the president's remarks and take no action. An official said the concern may have triggered Mr. Kim to stop short of referring directly to the textbook issue. He added that the Korean government will mobilize all means at its disposal to block the authorization of the flawed textbooks.

Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's party gazette, also severely criticized the textbook situation, calling it "Japan's ideological preparation for an invasion into Korea and Asia."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori of Japan reportedly expressed anger at the leak of copies of book texts awaiting approval. Major news media in Japan covered Mr. Kim's remark in depth. The Mainichi daily newspaper reported that the controversial textbooks will be approved at the end of this month.

President Kim also said during the speech that inter-Korean relations will improve dramatically once North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il makes a return visit to Seoul and the Seoul-Shinuiju rail link is restored.

Mr. Kim also said that when Kim Jong-il visits Seoul, he will make sure to secure detailed agreements on all outstanding issues, including military issues, necessary to end the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula.

by Kim Jin-kook