Tokyo is preparing for a summit between the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the North Korean leader after the US-North Korea summit
TOKYO, Japan – Following his recent peace meetings with the South Korean leader Moon Jae In and the U. S. President Donald Trump, the once reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might be preparing for a meeting with Japan.
According to reports, Tokyo began preparing for a summit between the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the North Korean leader, after the U. S.-North Korea summit concluded on a positive note.
A Japanese government source was quoted as saying in reports that during his meeting with the U. S. President Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un had expressed his readiness to meet Abe.
Further, the source revealed that the possible Japan-North Korea meeting could take place in September this year, on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum to be organised in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok.
Offering further clues of such a possibility, reports confirmed that the Japanese Prime Minister will be attending the Forum in Russia, and that Russia has also invited Kim Jong Un to take part in the event.
The Russian state media confirmed recently that the country’s President Vladimir Putin invited Kim Jong Un to make his first trip to Russia since taking power in late 2011.
He invited him to attend the forum, which is scheduled for September 11-13.
During the historic meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un is said to have expressed to Trump that there are possibilities for him to meet with Abe and that he is “open” to doing so.
Sources further noted that following the remarks, Tokyo was now expected to launch full-fledged preparations to realize the first Japan-North Korean summit since 2004.
Japan occupied the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
Since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held talks with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang 14 years ago, Japanese and North Korean leaders have not met even once.
Experts suggest that the summit would be an attempt to settle the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s.
Abe and the Japanese government has remained focused on settling the matter as one of its key priorities.
Experts also noted that Abe would also use the opportunity to tell Kim Jong Un that Japan is ready to settle the tumultuous past between the two countries and normalize bilateral ties.
Further, the Japanese leader might also express his willingness to provide economic support to North Korea after the comprehensive resolution of outstanding issues concerning North Korea, most importantly its nuclear and missile programs and the abductions.
According to reports, Trump briefed Abe about his meeting with Kim Jong Un in a telephonic conversation post the Singapore summit.
A Japanese government source revealed that during Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un, the U. S. President brought up the issue of abduction at Abe’s request and said that he had conveyed Japan’s stance, which is based on the 2002 Japan-DPRK (North Korea’s formal name) Pyongyang Declaration.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with the Prime Minister, Koichi Hagiuda, a lawmaker close to Abe also said that when Trump discussed the issue with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un did not repeat his country’s long-held position that the abduction issue has been resolved.
According to official records, Japan lists 17 of its citizens as having been kidnapped by North Korean agents and suspects North Korea’s involvement in many more disappearances of Japanese nationals.
Five of the 17 citizens alleged to have been kidnapped were repatriated in 2002 following Koizumi’s first talks with Kim Jong Il.
Further, Pyongyang has stated previously that eight of the abductees have died and the other four never entered the country.
On Thursday, Abe held a meeting at his office with a group representing abductees’ families and said soon after, “Taking the opportunity of the U. S.-North Korean summit, Japan is determined to face North Korea directly and resolve the issue.”
Local reports noted that Shigeo Iizuka, who heads the group, is said to have asked Abe not to rush into such a summit and told him, “I believe it is still early for the prime minister to (meet with Kim) and negotiate various matters, while nothing is decided.”
However, so far, Abe has not mentioned the schedule for Japan’s planned negotiations with North Korea.
However, in an indication that efforts to organize such a meeting have already began, the Japanese Foreign Ministry is reportedly dispatching Fumio Shimizu, deputy director general at its Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, to a security forum in Ulaanbaatar.
At the two-day event through Friday, the Japanese side will have an opportunity for contact with North Korean officials who will also be in attendance.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, the Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, who is in Seoul for a meeting with his U. S. and South Korean counterparts, said he hoped an Abe-Kim summit will materialize “in a way that will lead to resolution of the issue of the kidnapped Japanese nationals.”
Kono further added, „There’s going to be a lot of arrangements to make.”
Further expressing hope for the fruition of such a meeting, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said during the press briefing on Thursday, that a Abe-Kim summit could lead to resolving numerous ongoing issues.
Suga insisted that a Japan-North Korea summit would have to help resolve the North’s missile and nuclear threats, and more importantly, the abductions of Japanese citizens.
