Japan’s PM Kishida: Summit with North Korea Still Undecided

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan stated that “nothing has been decided yet” regarding the possibility of a North Korea-Japan summit.

According to Kyodo News, Prime Minister Kishida, in a meeting with reporters at the Prime Minister’s residence on the evening of the 25th, said, “A summit is important to resolve all current issues with North Korea.” He added, however, that “there’s no decision made yet” regarding the possibility of a North Korea-Japan summit, calling it “a matter of the other party.”

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and deputy director of the Workers’ Party, earlier in the day revealed in a statement published by the Korean Central News Agency that “even recently, Prime Minister Kishida has expressed his desire to meet with the Chairman of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as soon as possible through another channel.” However, she demanded a change in Japan’s stance on the issue of Japanese abduction by North Korea, warning that “if the Prime Minister remains obsessed with the abduction issue, he won’t be able to avoid the reputation of his plan being nothing more than a popularity stunt.”

Japan’s government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, said at a regular press conference that “we are constantly working through various routes (to hold a North Korea-Japan summit) and will continue to do so.” However, he disputed, “We cannot accept the claim that the abduction issue has already been resolved” and that “our policy remains unchanged to comprehensively solve various current issues such as abductions, nuclear weapons, and missiles under the North Korea-Japan Pyongyang Declaration.”

The North Korea-Japan Pyongyang Declaration was announced after a meeting between then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean Defense Chairman Kim Jong Il in North Korea on September 17, 2002. The declaration includes four items: promoting the summit on normalization of diplomatic relations, compensation based on reflection on history, prevention of recurrence of regrettable issues (such as abductions), and establishment of cooperative relationships to solve nuclear and missile issues.