Rice Having Trouble Bringing Japan, N.Korea to the Table?

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice insists that the six-party talks
to end a dispute over N.Korea's nuclear ambitions will be 'openended'
-- i.e., they'll go on as long as necessary.

Associated Press:

WASHINGTON
- The resumed six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program
will end only with a firm commitment that Kim Jong Il's government is
scrapping the program, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.

Only
in that context, she said, will the negotiators talk about economic and
energy aid to North Korea and increased political contact that
eventually could lead to full relations between the United States and
the communist-led country.

What I found interesting was Rice's choice of words.

"I
don't think anyone would ask us that we set a firm deadline by which,
if we cannot do this, then the talks end," Rice told reporters after
meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. "I do think
that there is an expectation in the international community that these
talks are not for the sake of talks."

I posted sunday
about a dispute between N.Korea and Japan that may be putting the
resumption of talks at risk. Rice's comment echoes concerns I reported
from Shoichi Nakagawa, chairman of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's
policy research council.

Associated Press:

"It's
fine if North Korea can bring some contribution to peace, but simply
starting talks is not meaningful," Nakagawa said on a morning talk show
carried by the public broadcaster NHK.

I'm just
guessing here (it's an educated guess), but it sounds like N.Korea's
onboard now and Japan's the holdout. Whether or not Japan comes to the
table is still an open question -- to my mind, at least.

The US
State Dept. has been downplaying the Japan/N.Korea dispute, which stems
from a medical supply smuggling operation in Japan by a pro-Pyongyang
group. Japan has begun a crackdown on the group, which is likely to
cause a healthcare crisis among N.Korean party leaders. In fact, it's
been downplayed to the point that it's not being reported in the US.

It's likely that Rice and State hope to force Japan to the talks by creating a global expectation of their attendance.