This was an intolerable and despicable act to stop Chongryon from using the hall by misleading the public opinion in Japan as it was revelation of an ulterior intention to prevent the long controversial issue from being smoothly solved.

Maehara let loose such string of invectives at a time when everyone admits that the legal procedures and steps on the issue of the hall by Chongryon is not a breach of law. This makes one cast doubt about whether he has elementary thinking faculty as a human being, to say nothing of qualifications as a politician.

He claims to have graduated from the law faculty of Kyoto University and held the post of foreign minister during the Democratic Party rule. But he found fault with the hall though it poses no problem from the legal point of view. This only proves that he is a political illiterate devoid of elementary international common sense and concept of law.

The advance sale of the hall and its lease are a universal transaction pursuant to procedures recognized by law and, therefore, everything is done in a legitimate manner free from any "violation and evasion of law".

Not only the legal circle but the political and media circles of Japan admit this.

It is free for anyone to sell or lend a real estate which one purchased through auction. On the contrary, it is illegal to interfere in it without any justifiable reason.

There were precedents in which purchaser of a real estate lent it to the debtor, its original owner, and such a precedent still exists at present.

What merits a serious attention is that Maehara groundlessly attributed the bankruptcy of the Credit Association of the Korean Bank to the "remittance of funds to North Korea" and "the organized use by Chongryon of the DPRK", while crying out for tightening watch and investigation into it and demanding relevant data.

This is an absolutely intolerable malignant accusation against the DPRK and Chongryon.

As known, the bankruptcy of the Bank was caused because it failed to set up proper management strategy to cope with the bubble economy just as was the case with lots of banks and credit associations that went bankrupt in Japan.

The then Prime Minister Koizumi on Dec. 2001 made it clear in a "reply to questions regarding the issue of Korean Bank operation fund" that "the government has not admitted the flow of fund to the North Korean authorities from the Credit Association of the Korean Bank and that there has not been information about a grant of fund."

Even a "report by a person in charge of financial management" at the time of bankruptcy of the Bank mentioned insufficient counteraction and heavy loans but not the admittance of "organized use" when referring to the major causes of the bankruptcy.

However, Maehara claimed that the "Resolution and Collection Corporation and the reserve insurance organization could seize lease fee by exercising all mandates and Chongryon should not be allowed to continue to use the Central Hall", a hysteric frenzy of a man steeped in bad blood towards the DPRK and Chongryon to the marrow of his bones.

Such a despicable aim to physically deprive Chongryon, an organization defending the democratic national rights of Koreans in Japan, of the base for its activities and to stamp out the legitimate activities of Chongryon and Koreans in Japan can never be achieved.

Maehara's reckless remarks reflect his foolish attempt to fuel atmosphere of bitterness towards the DPRK and Chongryon in the Japanese society, chill the climate of the DPRK-Japan inter-governmental talks and improve his clout as a politician from an opposition party.

By nature, he is an imbecile political philistine bereft of any political idea and ability and is like a political migratory bird who stoops to any infamy to gain his popularity in the political camp.

As for the issue of improving the relations between the DPRK and Japan, he blustered that "no chance should be given to the former."

He is a henchman and war servant for the U.S. steeped in sycophancy toward the U.S. While extolling the U.S. as a "guardian of peace" and "stability" in the Asia-Pacific, he said the U.S. sub-critical nuclear test was not in contravention of the "Prague address" made by the U.S. chief executive and voiced "understanding of it".

He was also forced to step down as foreign minister as he violated the laws and regulations on political funds which ban the acceptance of political fund from foreigners.

Such a human reject questioned the DPRK-Japan inter-governmental talks while raising the Central Hall issue and made remarks chilling the atmosphere of the talks, a vivid manifestation of his sinister political purpose to check the advance of the DPRK-Japan relations.

Explicitly speaking, Chongryon is a genuine overseas Koreans' organization active for defending and realizing the democratic national rights of Koreans in Japan, and the Central Hall of Chongryon is an inviolable base for its activities as it plays the role of foreign mission in the absence of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Japan.

Maehara had better face up to the trend of the times and stop such folly as hurting his image.