WEHRFRITZ: Is North Korea near collapse?

KOMURA: There are too many things we do not know. But the fact is that General Secretary Kim Jong Il still controls the country. We do not believe that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [DPRK] is near collapse.

North Korea fired a new Taepodong rocket over Japan last August. How big a threat does Kim’s regime pose?

The DPRK is developing new missiles. Some of them have been deployed. There is also suspicion about nuclear [weapons] development. Therefore, North Korea threatens not only Japan but all of Northeast Asia. If it continues to develop and deploy missiles, and if the nuclear program has indeed [restarted], the threat is even larger.

Is Pyongyang violating the 1994 Framework Agreement under which it was to halt its nuclear-weapons program in return for nuclear-energy technology supplied by the United States, South Korea and Japan?

There is suspicion. And it has to be eliminated.

How?

Inspections. We know that the United States and North Korea are talking about them, and that there may be some progress. The U.S., Japan and [South] Korea should act together to support these efforts. North Korea can either eliminate suspicion or deepen it. We have to talk intensively so they will come to see which is in their interest.

Will you cut funding for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization [KEDO], the consortium that is supplying the nuclear-power assistance, if Pyongyang launches another missile over Japanese territory?

KEDO is the most realistic and effective framework to deter North Korea’s nuclear development. To sustain it, we need North Korea to eliminate suspicion about its nuclear program and refrain from developing additional missiles. We are appealing to the DPRK to do this. However, if a new missile is launched, and if it flies over Japan, it will become very difficult to convince Diet lawmakers or the Japanese people that we should continue cooperation with KEDO.

Japan and the DPRK don’t share diplomatic relations. So what can Tokyo do to soften the North’s behavior?

Prime Minister Obuchi said recently that if the DPRK responds constructively to international concerns, Japan would consider improving the relationship. We are waiting for a response. For some time Japan has taken the position that large-scale economic assistance is possible only after diplomatic relations are established.

Given North Korea’s economic crisis, might Japan provide assistance during, rather than after, normalization talks?

As I said, large-scale economic assistance must come after normalization. But before that, if North Korea responds in a constructive way to international concerns, it is possible that we would commence food aid and other humanitarian assistance.

So if the North halts its missile program and resolves other issues, Japan would reciprocate with more aid prior to full normalization?

Our position has not changed. However, there is a question as to how we delineate large-scale assistance versus other assistance. As long as North Korea is moving toward resolving issues that separate it from Japan, there are various things we would consider.