U.S. diplomat William Perry has a policy of "cautious realism" regarding North Korea, and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is identified with his positive "sunshine policy" vis-a-vis Pyongyang. It would be generous and accurate to characterize Japan's policy toward the North Korean regime of Kim Jong Il as "darkness at noon."
While North Korea's Ri Myun Hoon, the tallest baskeball player (235 cm) ever seen, was taking part in friendly "reunification" matches in Seoul last weekend, U.S. diplomats were looking for ways to invite North Korean counterparts to Washington D.C.
At about the same time, Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono was saying that proceeding with food aid to North Korea -- where at least 220,000 have starved since the mid-1990s -- was premature. Thus Tokyo put on hold an agreement between the two nations' Red Cross societies that had been signed five days earlier.
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