Japan Plans to Set Up Provisional Consulate in North Korea

According to a report by the Mainichi newspaper agency yesterday, the Japanese government has made a plan to discuss setting up a provisional consulate in the North with North Korea for the final round of the Asian qualifiers for 2006 World Cup, which will be held in Pyongyang on June 8.

It is known that the North could attract about 5,000 Japanese tourists during the World Cup. More than 100 reporters and 50 cameramen are to enter the North for heated coverage activities.

The question that Japanese should address in Pyongyang is the fact that if they lose their passports or get involved in some incident, they could be faced with not being protected personally as well as not being issued a temporary passport because there is no Japanese embassy or consulate in the North, which has not signed a diplomatic treaty with Japan yet.

The Japanese government is worried about the possibility that the North would intentionally delay the departure of Japanese cheering squad and restrict individual activities. That is why Japan plans to meet with the North for the establishment of a provisional consulate in a hotel room in Pyongyang.

It is said that Japan would probably discuss whether a special chartered plane should be prepared for Japanese cheering squad.

Hun-Joo Cho hanscho@donga.com