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Press Conference by the Press Secretary 14 December 1999

1. Attendance of Senior Policy Advisor Ryutaro Hashimoto at the commemorative ceremonies to return Macau to the People's Republic of China
2. Outcome of the Council Meeting of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)
3. Specific details of the contract to be entered into between KEDO and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)
4. Regarding the possible pregnancy of Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Masako
5. Statement on the lifting of steps taken against North Korea and preparatory talks for the resumption of normalization negotiations between Japan and North Korea

1. Attendance of Senior Policy Advisor Ryutaro Hashimoto at the commemorative ceremonies to return Macau to the People's Republic of China

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. I have a couple of announcements to make. The first is that, as you know, Macau is being returned to the People's Republic of China on 20 December, and there will be commemorative ceremonies to be hosted by the Government of the Republic of Portugal first and then the Government of the People's Republic of China from the evening of the 19 December to the wee hours of 20 December. The Government of Japan does attach importance to this event, and at the invitation of both the Governments of Portugal and China, we are dispatching former Prime Minister and Senior Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Obuchi, Ryutaro Hashimoto as the Government of Japan representative to attend these ceremonies. We would like to extend our congratulations on this event of Macau being returned to China, and we do hope that these commemorative ceremonies will take place smoothly, that the one-country two-systems formula will work smoothly, and that Macau will continue to develop. That is my first announcement.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
   
2. Outcome of the Council Meeting of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)

   Mr. Numata: My second announcement is about the outcome of the Council Meeting of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) which took place yesterday. The Council examined the turn-key contract to be entered into between KEDO and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and they approved the contract. The KEDO Council instructed Executive Director Desaix Anderson of KEDO to sign this turnkey contract. The signing is to take place tomorrow, 15 December, at the KEPCO headquarters in Seoul.

   Related Information (The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO))
   
3. Specific details of the contract to be entered into between KEDO and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)

   Q: On KEDO, have the subcontractors been decided?

   Mr. Numata: Not yet. I was talking about the main contract, and the main contractors, as I said, are KEDO and KEPCO. There does, of course, arise the question of possible subcontractors maybe participating in the construction of the light-water reactor as subcontractors of KEPCO. As I understand it, KEPCO is in the process of negotiating these contracts with the potential subcontractors, but they have not come to a final decision yet. As I understand it, there are some Japanese companies which are in the process of negotiating with KEPCO as potential subcontractors.

   Q: Could you put this KEDO agreement into some context? How important a step is this in moving toward the actual construction and consolidation of this agreement between the countries?

   Mr. Numata: We do attach quite a lot of importance to it. The main contract is to be signed tomorrow, which does mean that the whole work of KEDO, to which we do attach a good deal of importance as part of the effort for the stability of the Korean Peninsula and for the relaxation of tension in the region, is moving one step forward. This main contract has been negotiated for some time. There have been some intervening events around the Korean Peninsula, and there have been some difficulties presented in the process. However, in the sense that this contract is being entered into tomorrow, we do feel that it does mark a significant step.

   Q: Could you talk a little bit about the circumstances surrounding this contract, and Japan-North Korea relations in the last few months, especially vis-a-vis where they were back in July when there was this great fear that there would be a test firing of a missile?

   Mr. Numata: I talked about there having been some events around the Korean Peninsula, and if we go back to the end of August last year there was the Taepodong missile launch. At that point, we said that we would hold in abeyance cooperation to KEDO for the time being. But then we did persuade our public that the Agreed Framework between the United States of America and North Korea, and this KEDO project which is the offshoot of the Agreed Framework do remain very important, realistic and viable means by which to work toward the relaxation of tension on the Korean Peninsula.

   I believe that in October last year, we said that we would continue to cooperate with KEDO, and then, as you know, there has been a very close process of collaboration and coordination in the approach to North Korea between the Government of Japan, the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the United States with respect to the question of North Korean missiles, the suspected underground facilities, humanitarian issues and so forth. That process has been going on. Meanwhile, the importance of KEDO has not been in any way diminished. We have been working very hard to bring this about, and this is moving a step forward. In the context of the overall relationship between Japan and North Korea we would like to continue to move forward along these paths.

   Q: Regarding the contract, do you have any more details, such as the possible sites and starting dates?

   Mr. Numata: I do not have the name of the site, but the site has been fixed because they have been carrying out some construction work in the sense of digging and preparing the ground for the actual construction of buildings and accommodation facilities for the workers involved in the project and so forth. About the starting date of the construction, the main contract is being entered into, the funding has to be secured and the actual start of the construction will partly depend on that. We feel that it is still possible for the construction to start sometime in the course of this year, but it will depend on the sort of factors that I mentioned. I repeat my point that the main contract being entered into is an important step toward the actual construction and the progress of this project.

   Q: What else would you like to see as part of this agreement on the part of North Korea to ensure that they comply with the terms of this arrangement? In particular there have been some calls for increased inspections in North Korea going forward. Is this jumping the gun? Or are you also pushing on that front as well?

   Mr. Numata: Well, it is going to be a long process. The main contract will be entered into, the subcontractors will have to be identified in the first place and so subcontracts will have to be entered into, and the details of the funding -- loan agreements and so forth -- need to be worked out. If you try to look down the road, there are some important matters to be dealt with. For example, I said that this is a turn-key contract, which means, given the technical jargon, that when the facility is finished, it will be handed over, so that all the operator has to do is turn the key -- that is what I understand to be the origin of the word "turn-key contract." Before we reach that stage, it is necessary for North Korea to fully implement the safeguard measures with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As I understand it, even before the full completion of the facility, and even before the important nuclear-energy related parts are handed over to North Korea, North Korea must fully fulfill its obligations under the safeguards agreement with the IAEA. That is something to which we obviously attach importance. We may have to deal with some other issues as we go forward with the construction of this facility, but it is very important to get started. Again, I come back to the point that the main contract being signed tomorrow is an important step.

   Q: If things go smoothly, when do you expect the project to be completed?

   Mr. Numata: It is a bit premature to say when the project might be completed. The timetable is slipping a bit, compared to what the original plan was. I did mention some intervening events since last year, and those events have in some ways affected the atmosphere in which these negotiations have been taking place. Some of these obstacles have been overcome, and that is why the main contract is being signed tomorrow. So we will continue to work closely together with our partners to see that the project will proceed as smoothly as possible.

   Related Information (The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO))
   
4. Regarding the possible pregnancy of Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Masako

   Q: Crown Princess Masako has worked for the Foreign Ministry in the past, and I was wondering how the Crown Princess' possible pregnancy has been received inside the Foreign Ministry?

   Mr. Numata: I do not know whether I can speak on behalf of all the members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but we in this building are naturally expectant, but it seems that given the latest reports, perhaps we are a bit more expectant than Her Imperial Highness Crown Princess Masako herself is at the moment. We eagerly await word of confirmation about her expectancy.

5. Statement on the lifting of steps taken against North Korea and preparatory talks for the resumption of normalization negotiations between Japan and North Korea

   Mr. Numata: Shall I say what has just been announced in regard to North Korea? I will give you the gist of it. Firstly, we welcome the outcome of the suprapartisan mission headed by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama with the participation of all the major political parties. We do attach a great deal of importance to the joint statement issued by the mission and the North Korean side. As we have been making clear for some time, Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea have been collaborating closely under the basic approach to North Korea, which has been jointly elaborated with the central role being played by former State Secretary for Defense and North Korean Policy Coordinator Dr. William Perry of the United States, and we have been exploring ways for reducing the threat that Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea on the one hand and North Korea on the other see on the other side. At the same time, the US-North Korea consultations have made some progress and the North Korean side announced that they will refrain from launching missiles while their consultations with the United States are going on. These we see as some positive movements.

   Under those circumstances, the Government of Japan feels that for the authorities of Japan and North Korea to go back to the table to talk would contribute to redressing the anomalous situation that has existed between Japan and North Korea since the end of the Second World War. We feel that it will also contribute to the relaxation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and Japan's own security. We feel that the fact that the Murayama mission has fostered a climate for such dialogue provides us with a good opportunity to proceed with the dialogue with North Korea on the basis of the approach of dialogue and deterrence.

   It is in view of this that we have decided to hold preparatory talks for the resumption of the normalization negotiations and the Red Cross-Red Cross talks on humanitarian issues in the course of this year. We are in the process of coordinating the actual dates and so forth. It is our intention to seek positive responses from North Korea through these talks on the question of the normalization and other issues. In order for us to take maximum advantage of this opportunity for dialogue, we have decided to lift the steps that we took in the wake of the missile launch in August 1998. That is, we have decided to lift the steps of suspending the holding of normalization talks and food assistance. This decision means that we will be going back to where we were as of August last year. It does not mean that we will immediately plunge into the normalization negotiations or the implementation of food assistance. Exactly what concrete steps we may be taking in these regards will be a matter of judgment from an overall perspective, including the progress of the preparatory talks and the responses of the North Korean side.

   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)