Biden Gives the Green Light to Japan-North Korea Summit

As Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasizes a ‘meeting without preconditions’ and focuses on realizing a North Korea-Japan summit, U.S. President Joe Biden has expressed his support for the summit for the first time. With public support from the U.S., it will be interesting to see if discussions surrounding a meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will progress.

During a joint press conference at the White House in Washington with Prime Minister Kishida on October 10th (local time), President Biden responded to a question regarding whether the topic of a North Korea-Japan summit was discussed. He said, “We discussed that issue,” and “We both agree that North Korea needs to address serious international concerns about human rights and humanitarian issues, including the immediate resolution of the abduction of Japanese citizens.” He added, “We welcome the opportunity for our ally to start a dialogue with North Korea,” and “I have faith in Japan and Prime Minister Kishida, and I think their pursuit of dialogue with them (North Korea) is a positive thing.”

With President Biden’s public support, Japan’s push for a North Korea-Japan summit is expected to gain momentum. There were concerns that Japan’s pursuit of a meeting with Kim Jong Un could cause a rift in the cooperation among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan. However, with President Biden stating that “the pursuit of dialogue is a positive thing,” Japan has been relieved of a significant burden. Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed his previous position: “We will continue high-level consultations to resolve various issues with North Korea.”

Whether North Korea will come to the negotiation table remains uncertain. Previously, Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister, hinted at the possibility of Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to North Korea, raising expectations for the realization of a North Korea-Japan summit. However, after Japan rejected North Korea’s condition that the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens has been resolved and should not be mentioned again, North Korea changed its stance and publicly declared last month that it would not pursue a North Korea-Japan summit. At the U.S.-Japan summit held on the same day, both countries strongly condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and emphasized cooperation to resolve the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens.