Jung Pak says Japan PM’s comments positive
Seoul: The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that there is no impediment to closer ties with Japan and that there may come a day Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits Pyongyang, State news agency KCNA said on Thursday. Kishida, whose nation has no formal diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, has said he was exploring possibilities to meet North Korea’s leader to resolve the matter of Japanese civilians abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.
Kim Yo Jong, a deputy department director in the ruling Workers’ Party, said Kishida’s comments could be considered positive if they were meant to advance relations.
“If Japan ... makes a political decision to open a new path for improving ties based on mutual respect and respectful behaviour, it is my view that the two countries can open a new future,” she was quoted as saying.
Japan has been critical of North Korea’s pursuit of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, often drawing harsh rebukes from Pyongyang, especially as Tokyo has stepped up its security alliance with South Korea and the United States.
The Japanese government noted Kim Yo Jong’s remarks but is refraining from commenting further, including how Tokyo sees them, said chief cabinet secretary and top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi. Japan cannot accept North Korea’s position that the abduction issue has been resolved, Hayashi said.
“Our stance of comprehensively resolving issues (with North Korea) such as abductions, nuclear (weapons) and missiles remains unchanged,” Hayashi said.