The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had conveyed his hopes of meeting her brother in the near future, amid backroom talks aimed at securing a summit soon.
But Kim Yo Jong, who serves as a top adviser to the North Korean leader, also said in a dispatch carried by state-run media that improving relations would hinge on whether Japan was willing to make “a practical political decision” — likely a reference to the long-festering issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.
Kishida, who appeared to be caught unaware by the report, said later Monday that this was nothing new.
“As I have said in the past, I have been making various direct approaches to North Korea that I have been directly overseeing, believing that top-level talks are important to resolving issues such as the abduction problem,” Kishida told an Upper House committee minutes after the report was released.
Last month, Kim’s sister dangled the prospect of a visit to Pyongyang by Kishida — though this included the caveat that Japan remove “stumbling blocks” in the relationship, including what she said was the “already-settled” abductions issue.
The Japanese government acknowledged those remarks, saying Tokyo is “keeping in mind” what could represent a chance of a thaw between the East Asian neighbors as the Kishida administration continues a behind-the-scenes push for a possible summit that began last year.
But Tokyo also rejected the claim that the abduction issue had been resolved, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
Still, relatives of abductees last month conditionally accepted the possibility of Tokyo lifting its sanctions on Pyongyang, giving the Japanese government breathing room to attempt a breakthrough with its nuclear-armed neighbor.