Staff writer
North Korea will not immediately agree to allow free passage of Japanese women there to Japan, but dialogue between the two countries will not break down, a Japanese expert on Korean affairs says.
North Korea will not break off bilateral talks because the communist country sees the establishment of ties with Japan as a key to rebuilding its economy, according to Masao Okonogi, a professor at Keio University. "In the short term, North Korea is seeking to strengthen the leadership of Kim Jong Il, who is expected to become state president in October or November, and is seeking food aid from Japan (by agreeing on home visits and resumption of normalization talks). Therefore, (drastic) concession of agreeing on the principle of free passage is unnecessary," Okonogi said in an interview.