One of our main activities is organising and hosting Luncheon Briefings on pertinent topics of EU-Asia relations. Beginning with an informal lunch, the Briefings usually last for 1.5 hours, including questions.

Attendees include EIAS members and other interested parties.

Experts wishing to discuss a possible topic for a Lucheon Briefing are invited to contact EIAS Direct Dr Willem van der Geest.

Recent Developments on the Korean Peninsula: A Japanese
Perspective
31 January 2007, EIAS, Brussels

Speaker: H.E. Mr. Takekazu Kawamura, Ambassador of Japan to the European Union
Chair: Dr. Willem van der Geest, Director, European Institute for Asian Studies

The European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS)wais honoured to welcome H.E. Mr. Takekazu Kawamura, Ambassador of Japan to the European Union, to its premises for a discussion on recent developments on the Korean Peninsula.

The North Korean nuclear crisis is a dominant and persistent factor in the insecurity perceptions held about Northeast Asia. Although the Six-Party Talks have served as a valuable mechanism for addressing critical issues, no substantial resolution has been found as yet.

Tensions escalated this past October when North Korea announced that it had successfully conducted a nuclear test. Immediately following this event, the Government of Japan decided to impose its own bilateral sanctions signalling a strong message of protest to Pyongyang, including denying all DPRK vessels permission to enter Japanese ports, banning the import of all items from the DPRK and refusal of entry, in principle, of DPRK nationals into the Japanese territory.

UN Resolution 1718, unanimously adopted by the Security Council a few days later (under the monthly rotating chairmanship of Japan), further enumerates various sanctions against North Korea. Nonetheless, a comprehensive solution to the situation on the Korean Peninsula remains elusive.

What are the challenges and opportunities for Japan in ensuring the discontinuation of the DPRK’s nuclear testing and ballistic missile launchings as well as the abandonment of its nuclear and missile programmes?

What does the future hold for the Six-Party talks, and should they fail, what alternatives does the Japanese government see for guaranteeing stability and security in East Asia?