South Korea is slamming Japan for sending an emissary to Pyongyang without discussing it with the other members of the Six-Party Talks.

North Korea's state-run media says Japan’s Isao Iijima met with Kim Yong Nam, the president of the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly.  Kim represents the country at international summit meetings.  Iijima is a special advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In Seoul, foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said South Korea’s position is work closely with Japan and the US in regard to North Korea, and “In that sense, we think that the visit by Iijima to North Korea is unhelpful,” and could undermine the unified front.  The South Koreans feel slighted by Japan, not just for this incident but also for insulting comments made by Osaka’s mayor about Korean “comfort women” enslaved by Japan during World War II.  It didn’t help matters when PM Abe took a photo-op in an Air Force training jet marked with the number of a military unit responsible for atrocities in the war. 

Mr. Cho also added that Japan did not consult with Seoul before launching the mission.  Earlier, China and the US also said they were kept in the dark; that is, until North Korean television showed images of Iijima being greeted in Pyongyang.

The American special representative for North Korea policy Glyn Davies immediately rushed to Tokyo for briefing with his Japanese counterpart.

Davies said, “I think we have some days to wait for all of us before we know there are any results from this mission.  We obviously will look forward to hearing from the government of Japan more details about this in the coming days.”  He maintained any diplomacy towards North Korea must be aimed at the denuclearization of the Stalinist regime.

So far, details of Isao Iijima’s visit to Pyongyang are not being disclosed.  It’s believed they are discussing the 17 Japanese abducted by North Korea during the 1970s and ‘80s.  Iijima made two trips to North Korea in the previous decade when he worked for the Koizumi administration and returned with five of the abductees.