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| moreAboutEastAsia |
| The Asahi Shimbun, September 4, 2004 Japan jittery on news of S. Korean uranium test The government doesn't believe Seoul intended to be a nuclear power. Others are not so sure. Government officials expressed concern that revelations of a uranium-enrichment experiment in South Korea could derail six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs. The South Korea issue will likely be raised during a Sept. 9-10 working-level meeting in Tokyo to prepare for the six-nation talks, sources said. ``There is no doubt that North Korea will now try to prolong the talks,'' a government source said Friday. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the global nuclear watchdog, said Thursday that South Korea reported Aug. 23 that some of its researchers conducted tests on a few milligrams of enriched uranium four years ago. Seoul emphasized that the experiment in early 2000 was not related to nuclear-weapons development. South Korea also maintained the experiment was conducted without the government's knowledge. Still, officials and observers in Japan are concerned about South Korea's involvement in a nuclear experiment because Tokyo, Washington and Seoul are supposed to be united in dealing with North Korea's nuclear ambitions in the framework of the six-nation talks. ``South Korea probably was not seriously thinking about producing nuclear weapons,'' said Hiromichi Umebayashi of the nonprofit independent research institute Peace Depot. ``But the incident will only show to other nations that South Korea has capabilities in building nuclear weapons. ``Pyongyang could now step up its contention that nuclear development is necessary for its national security.'' The Japanese government seemed to accept Seoul's explanation. ``We do not think that South Korea, as a national policy, was preparing for nuclear-weapons development or enriching uranium to be used for weapons,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference Friday. But others were more wary. After hearing the news that South Korean scientists had experimented with nuclear material, a government source said, ``That's why South Korea has been tolerant of the North.'' A senior member of the ruling coalition said, ``They (Seoul) probably think they could become a nuclear power after the two Koreas are united.'' Hideshi Takesada of the National Institute for Defense Studies who is an expert on Korean Peninsula issues noted that the experiment came at a time when South Korea was intensifying its sense of independence and nationalism.(IHT/Asahi: September 4,2004) (09/04) |
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