Japanese-Korean Relations in Perspective

Abstract

IN SPITE OF OPTIMISTIC FORECASTS by some observers and open encouragement by the Kennedy administration, the sixth session of the JapaneseKorean negotiations held in i962 failed to bring about any tangible result. Ten years of negotiations have failed to iron out the problems existing between the two countries and so far the two countries do not maintain diplomatic relations with each other. The purpose of this article* is to analyze the issues involved and indicate the causes of this prolonged deadlock. The issues originally agreed upon for discussion at the preliminary sessions of October-November i95i were: the legal status of Koreans in Japan; the question of ownership of Japanese vessels in Korean waters at the end of the war; Japanese claims to compensation for properties formerly held in Korea; fishery questions; and diplomatic relations. Since then a number of issues have been added: the Rhee Line or the Peace Line; the possession of Dokto (or Takeshima); the Korean claim for compensation for losses suffered during the years under the Japanese rule; the Japanese fishermen seized by Korea; the repatriation of Korean residents in Japan to North Korea; and the jurisdiction of the Republic of Korea. For the purpose of discussion, the controversies are grouped into the following four categories: (i) questions arising out of the Japanese occupation of Korea, (2) rights over territorial waters and an island, (3) treatment of Korean residents in Japan, and (4) the jurisdiction of the Republic of Korea. Resumption or initiation of diplomatic relations are contingent upon the solution of these issues. Although the Japanese government has proposed that diplomatic missions be exchanged regardless of the outcome of the negotiations, it is highly unlikely that the Korean government would agree to this proposal. Some progress was made on the first group of issues. From the very beginning of the negotiations in I952, the Japanese government demanded compensation for all private properties once held by the Japanese nationals in Korea which were eventually disposed of by the Korean government. Although the Japanese government acquiesced in the measures taken by the United States military government in Korea by signing the San Francisco treaty (Article Four provided for the recognition of the validity of the disposition of Japanese property by the United States military government),