North Korea has established a team to negotiate with Japan, which itself is seeking direct talks to settle various issues, sources familiar with bilateral
North Korea has established a team to negotiate with Japan, which itself is seeking direct talks to settle various issues, sources familiar with bilateral relations have said.
The negotiating team was apparently established sometime between April and the historic U. S.-North Korea summit on June 12, reflecting a move by Pyongyang to explore dialogue with Tokyo in the midst of a rapid change in the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea judged earlier this year that mending ties with Japan would become a future task if it moves to improve ties with the United States, South Korea and China, the sources said Friday.
At a plenary meeting in April of the central committee of North Korea’s ruling party, the policy of pursuing active dialogue with surrounding countries was adopted, they added.
Tokyo has long sought answers about the abduction of Japanese by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects the North’s involvement in many more disappearances.
But no substantial progress has been made despite exchanges via the team, according to the sources, and prospects for making progress are clouded by the murky outlook for the ongoing denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea.
