Text Fwd: S. Korea calls Kan's remarks on Japanese troop dispatch 'unrealistic' 님한은 일본 군대 파견에 대한 나오토 칸의 언급이 비현실적이라 말함

Yonhap News
2010/12/12 16:01 KST
S. Korea calls Kan's remarks on Japanese troop dispatch 'unrealistic'

SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean officials on Sunday brushed off as "unrealistic" Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's remarks on a possible dispatch of his country's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to the Korean Peninsula in case of contingencies.

In a meeting Friday with the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, Kan was quoted as saying that his government plans to hold talks with South Korea on sending SDF to rescue the abductees in the event of a contingency in the region.

"I don't know in what context Prime Minister Kan's remarks were made," an official at the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, adding that they may not have come after thorough consideration. The Korean official said criticisms by Japanese media indicate that there was not anything concrete being planned.

[..]

Some officials saw Kan's remarks as aimed at conservatives in his country who demand revising Japan's pacifist constitution that limits the dispatch of its troops overseas and bans the settlement of international disputes through the use of force.

"There was no discussion (on the issue) with the South Korean government in advance," a senior official at Seoul's foreign ministry said, adding that Seoul was "rather surprised" by Kan's comments.