An annual U. N. General Assembly gathering in late September may offer an opportunity for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jon
An annual U. N. General Assembly gathering in late September may offer an opportunity for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to hold bilateral talks if Kim is invited to deliver a speech there, Japanese government sources said Thursday.
Tokyo is working to arrange the first Japan-North Korea summit in more than a decade to resolve outstanding bilateral issues including the North’s past abduction of Japanese nationals, getting a boost from the historic talks between U. S. President Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore on Tuesday.
An annual economic forum to be held in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok in mid-September is also seen as a possible chance for Abe and Kim to get together, the sources said.
But the government has decided that it needs a plan B because it is not clear whether Kim will attend the forum, which is scheduled only days after North Korea’s national foundation day on Sept. 9, according to the sources.
The Japanese government believes there is a possibility that Kim will be invited to the U.