North Korea sanctions not on agenda for Japan’s foreign minister Taro Kono during Hong Kong visit
Source tells the Post that city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor took item off the table for their official meeting on Sunday
Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono begins a two-day visit to Hong Kong on Saturday, but North Korean sanctions will not be on the agenda for discussion after the city’s leader rejected the idea, according to a source.
Under the “one country, two systems” policy, Hong Kong relies on Beijing to handle matters of diplomacy and foreign affairs.
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“North Korea won’t be on the agenda. It’s a foreign relations issue. They know that we won’t discuss this,” the source said.
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On Friday, a Japanese ministry of foreign affairs official seemed to be unaware about the Hong Kong’s official’s unwillingness to discuss North Korean issues. “We think that Hong Kong’s location is very important in terms of the strict implementation of the UN resolutions … Mr Kono will discuss this issue with Hong Kong officials and ask them to continue abiding by those resolutions,” he said on a briefing with journalists in Tokyo.
“It’s a good occasion for us to talk about North Korea … Hong Kong is a very important player in terms of putting more pressure [on] North Korea,” the official said.
Hong Kong is a very important player in terms of putting more pressure [on] North Korea
The Japanese official said that he had the impression that Hong Kong government was “now serious about implementing those resolutions”. He added that Kono could help officials in Hong Kong to better understand the North Korean issue.
The same source in Tokyo said that Beijing was aware of this “rare visit” by a Japanese official to Hong Kong, noting that their reaction had been “very positive”.
The visit to Hong Kong was initiated by Tokyo, according to the Hong Kong-based source.
The Chief Executive’s Office confirmed that Lam would meet Kono, but did not comment on agenda for discussion.
Japan has shown increasing national security concerns over tensions on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea’s nuclear and missile capacity.
“Japan has an important role to play in resolving the dispute through maintaining and enforcing sanctions itself, as well as applying diplomatic pressure and persuasion on other governments to do the same,” said Michael Kovrig, senior adviser for North East Asia with the International Crisis Group. “Japan may be concerned about Hong Kong being used for business operations or transshipments that violate sanctions.”
UN reports in recent weeks said Hong Kong companies were being used as fronts for North Korean businesses. Last month the US slapped sanctions on nine companies outside North Korea that were working on Pyongyang’s behalf. Two were based in mainland China and five in Hong Kong.
Steve Chung Lok-wai, an expert in Korean affairs at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, noted the timing of the visit. “Japan hopes to maintain the pressure until North Korea agrees on denuclearisation, making sure that they will not go through back doors and other channels to finance their programme,” he said.
Chung added it was important for nations and regions to collaborate on this matter.
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“Japan is working on consolidating efforts and preparing ground for the upcoming meetings [regarding North Korea],” he said.
Kono’s visit also comes at a time when relations between Japan and China seem to be improving.
Premier Li Keqiang said this week he was considering attending the China-Japan-South Korea leaders’ summit and paying an official visit to Japan in the first half of this year.
