MOSCOW: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (pix) has “conveyed his intention” to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as soon as possible, the latter’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said on Monday, reported Sputnik.
“Shortly ago, Kishida, through another channel, conveyed his intention to personally meet the President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as soon as possible,“ Kim Yo Jong was quoted by the North Korean state-run news agency KCNA as saying.
Kishida has several times expressed his desire to hold talks at the highest level with the North Korean leader, Japanese Cabinet Chief Yoshimasa Hayashi said in February. Kim Yo Jong said then that if Tokyo abandoned the idea of putting forward “the already settled abduction issue” as a condition for mending bilateral relations, there would be no reason for the two nations not to become close and the Japanese prime minister’s visit to North Korea might take place.
The same month, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the talks, that the Japanese prime minister had intensified his efforts to meet with the North Korean leader. The summit is expected to focus on securing the release of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago, among other things, the report said.
Tokyo claims that the North Korean intelligence services have allegedly abducted at least 17 Japanese citizens since the 1970s, but Pyongyang has recognised only 13 cases of abductions. Five of them managed to return to Japan following visits to North Korea by former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2002. Pyongyang claims that the remaining eight people have allegedly died, but Japan considers the evidence presented for their deaths unconvincing or false, and continues to demand the extradition of all abductees. -Bernama
