JAPAN-NORTH KOREA SUMMIT: Behind the Curtain

A car speeds through central Dalian...

...ferrying a Japanese diplomat on a classified mission.

Keep it top secret,
because lives are at stake.

The man is Tanaka Hitoshi.

He is conducting behind-the-scenes negotiations with North Korea on critical issues, including the abduction of Japanese citizens.

His counterpart is a shadowy figure whose identity remains shrouded in mystery.

Backroom meetings are held in secret until the eleventh hour, even with Japan's closest ally, the United States.

We knew from intelligence, our intelligence that Mr. Tanaka was meeting with North Koreans.

We just didn't know which North Koreans.

After a year of talks, the first-ever summit between Japan and North Korea takes place in September 2002.

Home after 24 years!

And, five abductees make it to Japan's shores...

but for the others that has yet to pass.

No one believed the issue
would go unresolved so long.

Beyond the North's coming up short on the abductee issue, it also continues to push ahead with its nuclear arms and missile development.

The stalemate in North Korea - Japan relations persists.

20 years on...

The key person from Japan has come forward to share his behind-the-scene experiences.

We interview Tanaka Hitoshi over the course of three hours.

After joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the diplomat worked mainly on U.S.-Japan matters.

But he also had his eyes set on the Korean Peninsula, believing peace in the region would be in Japan's national interest.

Japanese diplomacy all goes back to
the Korean Peninsula.

To ensure Japan's security, we had to find
solutions on the Peninsula and China issues.

Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula as a colony until 1945.

Later, in 1965, after South Korea embraced capitalism, diplomatic relations with Japan were restored.

But relations with North Korea, which turned to socialism, remain frosty.

North Korea conducted multiple terrorist acts against South Korea, mostly in the 1980s.

When a female agent blew up an airliner and was arrested, she was carrying a fake Japanese passport...

and spoke Japanese fluently.

The world was confounded.

The testimony of the mysterious operative suddenly cast light on Japanese who had vanished without a trace.

The new intelligence revealed that North Korea had abducted 17 Japanese and forced them to teach their language to spies.

The agenda was to camouflage their agents as Japanese nationals and dispatch them to South Korea.

But, the North Korean government strongly denied Japan's assertions.

In 1997, the families of the abductees formed a group to petition the government to find their missing loved ones.

With his 2001 appointment to head of Asian diplomacy, Tanaka wasted no time in proposing the North Korean negotiations to Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro.

The abductions were
a violation of Japan's sovereignty.

Japan should have prevented
such acts committed in broad daylight, but couldn't.
And Japanese citizens were kidnapped.

This was a problem that
Japan had to solve on its own.

I was determined to make a breakthrough
on the Korean Peninsula at any cost.

So I asked Koizumi
if I could initiate negotiations with the North.

He said, "Yes. But guard it as a secret,
because lives are at stake."

Keeping it a secret would not be easy -
almost impossible.

Because wherever I go, there's the media.

That's why it's virtually impossible.

But that's what the prime minister ordered,
which I completely understood.

Yokota Sakie's daughter Megumi disappeared in 1977.

Just 13 years old at the time, she had been snatched away by a North Korean agent on her way home from badminton practice.

Sakie vividly remembers the events of that evening.

She was with her sons when they passed the gym where Megumi was playing.

I said, "Your big sister is practicing hard."
Since we had never seen her training, I suggested taking a peek.
But my sons said that we'd embarrass her.

So I said, "Never mind," and we went home.
That was around 5:15 p.m.

I started cooking.
And it was later that it... happened.

If only we had stopped to watch
on our way home...

These are the hardest for me to see...

Sakie has always dreamed of seeing her daughter in her badminton uniform again...

How this could have happened to Megumi?

She could never have imagined this.
I can't imagine how horrific it was for her.

Since I know she can't wait to come home, I want her returned to have the chance
to resume her life as a Japanese.

The pressing question was how to open negotiations with North Korea...

First, Tanaka asked North Korea to introduce someone capable of dealing with the abduction issue.

And the initial meeting was set up in Dalian.

To guard confidentiality, they had chosen a hotel in a third country.

Prior to the talks, Tanaka had received zero information from North Korea about his counterpart.

The man who showed up was an enigmatic character, later referred to as "Mr. X."

He swiftly pulled off his overcoat to reveal
a jet-black military uniform adorned with medals.

It may have been his way of saying,
"I'm putting my life on the line here."

He would say, "I'm a military man, so I have to take responsibility
if the talks fail."

In North Korea, that usually means death.

He gave me his name, but I didn't believe
it was real. So, it didn't mean much.

I think not giving me information
on his identity was part of the North's
ironclad negotiation rules.

The counterpart would draw the curtains as soon as he entered a room and always sit with his back to the window so his face could not be identified from outside.

The atmosphere in the suite was always extremely tense.

I knew I had to be sharp
about the negotiations.

So the first thing I decided was
to never lie.

With North Korea, I realized everything
would break down if I did.

That's because I knew my conversations
with the North would be recorded.

And I was certain that they would replay the tapes
countless times to check for inconsistencies.

With that in mind,
I proceeded with great caution.

What I said at the beginning and
after hours of discussion had to be consistent.

The negotiations were extremely tough.

Tanaka decided to conduct a credibility check on Mr. X.

When negotiating with democratic nations,
plenty of public information is available.

But the same doesn't apply to North Korea.

So I had to see
if this person was worth negotiating with.

Tanaka made his first request - the unconditional release of a Japanese national who was being held by North Korea on suspicion of espionage.

Shortly thereafter, the man, who had been detained for over two years, was returned to Japan.

Tanaka also asked his counterpart to arrange a meeting between North Korea and the U.S.

as these two countries' relations were rapidly deteriorating.

This led to an informal meeting of foreign ministers at an international conference.

In the end,
Mr. X completed both of the tasks.

So I deemed him trustworthy.

Whatever his name and organization, he was someone I could count on
in the negotiations.

I could be very sure of that.

Tanaka acted in kind, showing his counterpart that he was also a worthy negotiating partner.

He presented the negotiator with a news report showing the prime minister's schedule...

and Tanaka's name was on it - proving that he was in close contact with Japan's leader.

So, just who was Tanaka's counterpart?

We spoke with Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean Foreign Ministry official.

After defecting to South Korea, he became a National Assembly member there.

According to him, Mr. X was not a Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomat, but actually from the "National Security Department," the country's secret police.

In North Korea, diplomats had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the abductees.

Only the National Security Department knew, but wouldn't disclose any information.

I believe that the negotiator had a very close relationship with Kim Jong Il.

When it came to diplomacy, Kang Sok Ju, then First Vice Foreign Minister, was his closest advisor, even meeting him alone.

But, Kang Sok Ju was also the official who thought they should not apologize on the abduction issue or promise to prevent a recurrence.

As someone in a position to meet Kim Jong Il alone, I think it was Mr. X who pushed Kang Sok Ju's stance aside to obtain Kim Jong Il's consent.

Professor Isozaki Atsuhito, an expert in North Korean politics, has this to say about Tanaka and Mr. X.

It's important that through these negotiations, the Japanese side's requests were clearly made known to Kim Jong Il through a top official.

His title is unimportant.

I think Tanaka got the right negotiating partner in terms of achieving concrete results.

I asked him what he was reading.

He said that he read books on Japan's
pre-war military and related publications.

He knew about Japan's intelligence training
and the Nakano spy school.

So, there's no doubt
he was clearly the head of intelligence.

I knew without someone directly connected
to the top, progress would be impossible.

On the North Korean side, they had their own incentives to enter into discussions with Japan.

In the mid 1990s, the hermitic nation faced severe food shortages that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.

To overcome its economic woes, it started seeking outside assistance.

After a summit held with South Korea, it was agreed the South would provide the North with economic assistance.

And there was the same expectation for Japan to grant generous financial aid.

This would symbolize reparations for past colonial rule.

The North seemed to be also holding out for an official apology...

Pyongyang expected the success of the talks to translate into about a 10 billion U.S. dollar economic package.

The country's transportation infrastructure could then be modernized.

After the Peninsula was divided, South Korea received reparations and an apology from Japan for its colonization.

But the North still has not received anything.

I think North Korea believed that an attractive financial package would be a big step forward in growing its presence.

Tanaka's mission was for both sides to resolve respective issues...

For Japan, North Korea's nuclear threat and abductee status...

For North Korea, reparations and apology for past colonial rule...

It was his grand vision for regional security.

Japan, as a concerned party, had
an obligation to promote peace.

So we needed to fulfill this duty
on the Peninsula.

I would negotiate for that.

But offering aid meant we first had to resolve
the abduction and nuclear issues.

So I said,
"We'd like to create a major roadmap."

But Tanaka hit roadblocks on his roadmap to stability...

Even over six months following the start of negotiations, North Korea had not disclosed any information on the abductions.

The talks teetered on the verge of collapse.

At that point, Tanaka relayed North Korea's request for a visit from Japan's prime minister as a way to break through the impasse.

Our condition was that all information
about the abductions be disclosed.

And, contingent on that,
Prime Minister Koizumi might visit.

But it was at that moment,
Mr. X threatened to shut down negotiations.

He said, "Mr. Tanaka, you were
talking about a big framework...

...You said it would include
normalization of relations, economic cooperation,
and other issues, right?

...But this seems not to be the case."

Mr. X became convinced that Japan only wanted
to expose the abduction issue, and once achieved would not even
send the Prime Minister.

So I felt it was all over.

Tanaka informed the prime minister it was unlikely he would obtain abductee information before the Summit, but would he visit North Korea anyway...

Koizumi said, "Hey Tanaka, when do I leave?"
He talked as if it was obvious he would go.

He must have thought that if he didn't, the whole
abduction story would be buried in darkness.

He told me that if I believed any Japanese
were alive in North Korea, he was willing to go.

I felt here's a true politician.

I was glad I could work on this issue
under this prime minister.

That was a crucial moment.

If he had said, "Let me think this over,"
it would have ended differently.

Tanaka told North Korea to be prepared for Prime Minister Koizumi's visit.

And in return, he strongly urged North Korea to come clean on the pivotal issue...

I told Mr. X that Koizumi would visit.

And that while there, the North must disclose
information on the abductions.

That meant Kim would admit to the abductions,
apologize and release those still alive.

North Korea would also provide a thorough report
on anyone it claimed had died.

I told Mr. X that if these conditions
could not be arranged, things would become very grave
if the prime minister showed up.

That's precisely why I thought
trust was so important.

We knew we weren't lying to each other,
that we were not bluffing.

So from then on, we discussed scenarios based on
the premise that Koizumi would visit.

North Korea was adamant about the scale of economic cooperation from Japan up until the end of the negotiations.

Just before the summit, North Korea's top diplomat strongly pushed Tanaka to reveal the numbers.

Kang Sok Ju, the First Vice Foreign Minister,
approached me.

And he invited me to the ministry's
guesthouse in Pyongyang.

Then he said he wanted to treat me to dinner.

He arranged for a dinner boat.
The wait staff carried in the courses.

But before and after the meal,
he brought up reparations again and again.

He relentlessly pressed me about them.

I told him that I wouldn't discuss the matter.

It was none other than Mr. X, who helped Tanaka out of this predicament.

Tanaka said that a relationship of trust had gradually formed over the course of the year, with meetings lasting up to 10 hours a session.

My counterpart had been doing these talks with me
for a long time, so he had my back.

I have many impressions of Mr. X,
but the strongest is his humanity.

He would tell me to go see my daughter
and spend more time with my family.

By the end, we had become quite close.

I feel this whole process placed him
in a very difficult position.

Tanaka later received the news that his counterpart had been executed - likely caught up in the country's power struggles.

When I heard that Mr. X had been executed,
I had a lot to reflect on...

The final hurdle ahead of the summit was obtaining approval from the United States - as the negotiations had been kept top secret even from Japan's dearest ally.

After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. denounced North Korea, along with Iran and Iraq.

States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil.

There were powerful anti-North Korean voices in the administration at that time, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Tanaka was concerned that Intel about the negotiations would be leaked to them.

I thought that powerful U.S. cabinet members
would be opposed.

So to gain support, I had to go through
Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage to reach Secretary of State Colin Powell
and President George Bush.

By connecting with relatively moderate administration officials, he was trying to avoid obstacles.

So, while the Deputy Secretary of State and others were in Japan for a conference, he invited them to a hotel and informed them of Prime Minister Koizumi's planned visit.

I assessed them as having no business in this.

This was between Japan and North Korea.

Mr. Koizumi had done us the honor of informing us.

I didn't feel any need to tell Mr. Cheney, Mr. Rumsfeld or any of the neocons.

Because if you tell them it'll only get mixed up.

In 2020 when this took place, we'd already had six years of trying to negotiate with the foreign ministry and all.

And they had no real power.

And so we'd go through the motions in the United States. We tried.

They had no real power.

We had been unsuccessful in having anything meaningful happen.

If Japan was successful, we felt it was in our interest.

So let Japan try.

America's number one concern was North Korea's accelerated development of nuclear weapons.

When James Kelly, then Assistant Secretary of State, was briefed by Tanaka on the Summit declaration draft with North Korea,

he asked for the inclusion of language actively discouraging nuclear development.

Not only was North Korea reprocessing radiated fuel rods but it was enriching uranium through the method of centrifuges

and we had learned in the summer of 2002
that as a much more substantial effort than had been believed before.

I do remember that the U.S. was given a copy of the draft of "Pyongyang Declaration."

I quote, "Both sides confirmed that for overall resolution of the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula, they would comply with all related international agreements."

I think that may have been added by Mr. Tanaka and others on the Japanese side, but that was what we urged, and it was done.

Emphasized that the nuclear issue excludes no one.

Michael Green is one of the few people who received a briefing from Tanaka.

He recalls the backlash from the neo-conservative members who weren't informed about Koizumi's visit.

Normally we tried to be transparent and share important information but in this case, to respect Prime Minister Koizumi's diplomacy and Tanaka san's efforts

we kept it to the State Department and White House highest levels.

And as a result, when it was announced to Prime Minister Koizumi was going to North Korea, some officials at the Pentagon anonymously told the Japanese media that President Bush was very angry and very disappointed.

I worked directly for President Bush.

He was not angry. He was not disappointed.

At the time, Prime Minister Koizumi and President Bush enjoyed an excellent relationship.

Their mutual trust provided strong backing for Japan as it headed into the talks.

He told Prime Minister Koizumi when he met him in September before the Pyongyang trip that he completely trusted him.

And he knew he was a strong supporter of our alliance and that he had good judgment.

And on a personal level President Bush really respected and trusted Prime Minister Koizumi.

And on our North Korea policy, he didn't make any decisions until he knew what Prime Minister Koizumi thought.

So it was a very close relationship.

Bush said, "I would never oppose
anything you say, Mr. Koizumi."

In turn, I reminded Koizumi that Japan
would never harm America's interests.

Allies each have their own agendas.

And the abduction issue
was on Japan's agenda.

It was a problem that
Japan had to resolve on its own.

After 30 clandestine meetings, Tanaka finally paved the way to the summit.

The Japan-North Korea summit was held in Pyongyang on September 17, 2002.

Kim Jong Il recognized and apologized for the abductions, which his country had long categorically denied.

And a joint declaration was signed by the heads of both nations.

The Japanese side expressed remorse and apologized for the damage and pain caused to the Korean people by past colonial rule.

North Korea declared that it would take appropriate measures to ensure that the outstanding issues related to the lives and security of Japanese nationals,

namely the abductions, would never occur again.

It was also agreed that all efforts would be devoted to comprehensively resolving the nuclear and missile issues and to normalizing diplomatic relations as soon as possible.

Finally, what the Japan-side was waiting for...

disclosures about the abductees...

Five were alive, eight dead - according to North Korea.

But the country failed to provide a shred of evidence to back its claim.

Yokota Sakie, a core member of the abductees' families' group, was informed that her daughter Megumi was dead.

I could never believe a report
that didn't even record when she died.

With your help, I'm going to continue the fight
for her return in the belief that she's still alive.

Special Edition!

Home after 24 years!

The following month, the five abductees were permitted to return to Japan temporarily under an arrangement with North Korea.

But when Japan kept them in the country, North Korea voiced strong criticism.

After that, investigations into the whereabouts of the other abductees, possibly 12 more, screeched to a halt.

And to say that the families were not happy about that is a gross understatement - even the whole of Japan was up in arms.

Tanaka soon came under intense fire for his involvement in the behind-the-scenes' dealings that, to many people, appeared to favor North Korea.

The severe criticism may have been
blowback for what we did in secret.

Koizumi told me to do
the negotiations covertly.

If leaked, they might stall.
And people might die.

But I sometimes wonder if we could not
have better explained the situation...

...to the abductees' families and the media.

Yet we had concluded that
our comprehensive framework was the only way.

And within it, the other party would have
to recognize the abductions.

Then came the Japan-North Korea Summit.

And Koizumi, fully grasping the situation,
chose to be there.

This diplomacy between Japan and North Korea is different from that of allies or friends who smile, shake hands and proclaim goodwill.

There weren't diplomatic relations at all for years - the only country without them among UN members.

At the very least, you could say this is the only achievement on the abduction issue in 20 years.

Since then, no others have returned.

Over the past 20 years, abductee families have tirelessly demanded that the government bring home their people.

Impose sanctions!

Their consensus was to ask the government to pressure North Korea through economic sanctions.

But, now, as members age their stance has shifted...

They hope the government will renew negotiations to urgently bring all the abductees home.

We'd like to ask for the continued support of the Japanese people and concrete action by the government so that we can embrace our children and other family members while in good health.

Two years ago, Yokota Sakie's husband passed away...

without ever being reunited with his Megumi.

Now, only Sakie and one other parent are alive.

We had no idea that time would
run out like this without a resolution.

I want the government to immediately hold a summit
with North Korea to bring the abductees home.

Everyone must want to come back.

For me, I just want Megumi back.
That's all.

Then life can return to normal.

That's what I am fighting so hard
to stay alive for.

Sakie has been waiting 45 years...

If her daughter walks through the door, she will prepare something special for the homecoming.

I was making stew the day she vanished.
So, I think that would do fine.

I think she might like some meat,
since she probably couldn't eat it there.

I hope that day will come soon.
In real life, not in my dreams...

North Korea has lately been accelerating its nuclear and missile development, in violation of various agreements.

Against this backdrop, the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit was held in 2018.

But in the end, no agreement was reached regarding the nuclear issue.

On the other hand, Japan has made no headway on any talks with North Korea...

North Korea will prioritize its relations with the United States.

But if ties with the Biden administration do not improve, North Korea will find it challenging to resolve various issues with Japan.

It sees Japan as a country with such diplomatic limitations that, ultimately, it is unable to free itself from the United States.

The North views all international matters, including U.S. and South Korea relations, comprehensively...

and most important is the nuclear issue.

Given the military buildup, such as the seventh nuclear test and various ICBM missile launches, can Japan break away from this overall trend

and handle relations with North Korea independently?

Personally, I don't think it can.

Former U.S. diplomats have been advising Japan to cooperate more closely with South Korea on humanitarian and other matters.

I would look for a very small, and this includes South Korea as well, very small issues to try to resolve.

For instance, South Korea now is trying to move ahead again to get some traction on the question of having war torn apart families from North and South Korea reunited, even though they're quite elderly right now.

That might, and it's happened in the past.

If Kim Jong Il who wants to show any, or Kim 3.0, Kim Jong Un wants to show any softening of his stance,

it's a very comfortable way and it doesn't have him giving up big issues of the military or leadership or his nuclear weapons.

From the U.S. perspective, the South Korea card is really critical to our diplomacy with North Korea.

And I think the same is true for Tokyo, for Japan.

There needs to be a much deeper restoration of strategic trust between Seoul and Tokyo before Japan can really shape the geopolitical environment in Northeast Asia.

The Japanese government is now calling for a summit with North Korea without any conditions.

An expert, however, points out that Japan needs to build a better strategy to draw the North to the negotiating table.

What Japan should do from now on is to squarely face North Korea independently.

There may be a public backlash, but the prime minister must be prepared to take that risk.

The days are past when North Korea would accept offers of economic assistance from Japan.

But, when it was in trouble during the pandemic, both the U.S. and South Korea offered humanitarian aid.

Japan should at least make that kind of gesture.

Rather than calling for unconditional dialogue, Japan should directly discuss issues together with North Korea.

Though not easy, I think Japan needs to maintain steady dialogue.

Tanaka put everything on the line to make the summit a reality.

Looking back, he reflects on the diplomatic lessons learned from the historic summit.

It's necessary for both bureaucrats and politicians
to question their roles as professionals.

That means sharing information, experience,
and insights to achieve Japan's interests.

We have to be conscious of this,
and proceed in a professional manner.

That is exactly what Japanese diplomats
must be prepared to do.

Politicians especially must have the awareness
and determination to do the right thing.

I believe this is the most critical element in
future negotiations with North Korea.

20 years on since the historic summit.

Though some gains were made, the all-important abduction issue remains unresolved.

The curtain is still tightly drawn on Japan-North Korea relations.