There are high expectations that Prime Minister Junichiro Kozumi's Sept. 18 summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will produce a breakthrough regarding the normalization of Japanese-North Korean relations. In addition to achieving this breakthrough in a manner that the Japanese people and other concerned parties can support, one hopes that Koizumi can also act as a peacemaker and make a substantive contribution to security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.
Quite understandably, finding a solution to the alleged abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea will be a top priority for Koizumi. As the prime minister once said, normalization cannot take place without first resolving this issue. Given the Japanese public's intense concern with the alleged abductions, Koizumi is willingly risking his political life by proceeding with the summit despite the enormous uncertainty it holds. In this respect, his courage and decisiveness should be commended.
No less important, however, is the prime minister's leadership role in facilitating the fragile peace process now emerging between North and South Korea and the ongoing efforts by the United States and other concerned parties to ensure North Korea does not engage in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.