An expert on foreign relations, Kuni Miyake knows full well that John Bolton's ultimatum of "no concessions without denuclearization" made peace talks in Hanoi totally impossible ("Is John Bolton our last hope?" in the July 9 edition).
As an article in the March 31 edition explained ("Trump asked Kim to give U.S. nukes"), North Korea was supposed to fully dismantle, besides their nuclear weapons, their "chemical and biological warfare" programs as well as their "ballistic missiles, launchers, and associated facilities;" halt "all related activities;" and find new jobs for their nuclear scientists.
This was obviously a nonstarter. No government would agree to such sudden disarmament and capitulation. One could say Bolton's "hawkish" approach "worked" only if Japan's hope was to derail the peace talks. For Miyake, "Japan" refers to the Abe administration, but if the people are still sovereign in this country, then the opinion of the majority counts. And what the majority hopes for is good-faith diplomacy resulting in an end to the Korean War and security in East Asia, no matter that Bolton and Tokyo are "almost unanimous on North Korea."
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.