The North Korea conundrum: Murata Koji reviews the recent round of multilateral and bilateral...

On May 14, President of South Korea Roh Moo Hyun paid his first presidential visit to the United States. In the summit meeting with United States President George W. Bush, the two leaders agreed that "increased threats to peace and stability on the [Korean] peninsula would require consideration of further steps." In top level talks between Japan and the United States on May 23, Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, also "agreed that further escalation of the situation by North Korea will require tougher measures from the international community." In both meetings, the participants sec