Hwang Jang-yup, “I Will Testify at the Japanese House of Representatives”

Hwang Jang-yup, the former secretary of the North Korea`s Workers` Party, is planning to visit Japan to testify on North Korean issues at the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, it was reported on August 17.

Hwang met Nakagawa Masaharu, a Japanese Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives who came to Korea to invite him to Japan, on August 16 and accepted the invitation according to a source who also attended the meeting.

The source reported, “Nakagawa asked Hwang to visit Japan for three days from September 15 to 17 at the invitation of the House of Representatives,” adding, “Hwang replied that Japan is close [to Korea] and in order to give a detailed account of the North Korean situation, he should perhaps stay for a week. ”

Hwang also mentioned, “I don’t understand why the Korean government and Japan are so afraid of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. He is actually nothing at all.”

Tokyo Shimbun reported on the same day that the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee will send an invitation soon and seek cooperation with the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

An official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, “Hwang’s visit to Japan is something he should decide by himself,” though he also speculated, “When the Japanese government asks for cooperation via a diplomatic channel, we will have to consider his security concerns.”

Hyong-gwon Pu Won-Jae Park bookum90@donga.com parkwj@donga.com