It appears the Korean press has not failed to seize upon the possible repercussions of North Korea's latest act of provocation for Japan's permanently resident Korean community, but while I'm certainly sympathetic to the fears of individuals worried about what the actions of Kim Jong Il will do to their image, I must say that the Korean permanent residents have had no small part in paving the way for such risks themselves: why, for instance, did the South-Korea focused Mindan (在日本大韓民国民団) decide to agree to a reconciliation with the North Korean vessel Chongryon (在日本朝鮮人総聯合会) this very year, notwithstanding the known involvement of the latter organization in espionage, drug smuggling, counterfeiting and the kidnapping of several individuals including Megumi Yokota? I mean, really, these people are living in Japan, they know how worried the Japanese are about North Korean threats and general criminality, and yet in the face of all that they decide to publicly hold a love-fest which might as well have blared on the headline news "Trust no Zainichi, northern or southern!" It's bad enough that one chooses to remain in a country for going on three generations even while refusing to either leave or adopt its citizenship, but to embrace an organization which is basically an enemy of the Japanese state - that is just begging for trouble.
UPDATE: The leadership of Mindan (now) agrees with me - no more talk of "reconciliation" with North Korea's sock-puppet.
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