North Korean leader's sister: Japan's PM proposed summit with Kim

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, is seen in this July 31, 2023 photo. Yonhap

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his intention to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim's influential sister said Monday, emphasizing such a meeting would only be possible should Tokyo make a political decision "in actuality."

"Shortly ago, Kishida, through another channel, conveyed his intention to personally meet the President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as soon as possible." Kim Yo-jong, who serves as the vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, said in an English-language statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), using the country's formal name.

It did not provide details on the channel used for the proposal or a potential time frame for such a meeting.

She said opening a new chapter in the relationship between North Korea and Japan would depend on whether Japan makes a political decision, warning that using the summit to resolve the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea would be seen as a "bid for popularity."

"If Japan truly wants to improve the bilateral relations and contribute to ensuring regional peace and stability as a close neighbor of the DPRK, it is necessary for it to make a political decision for strategic option conformed to its overall interests," Kim said.

A foreign ministry official said South Korea is "closely communicating with Japan" regarding the North's purported proposal.

"The government is closely communicating with Japan on the North Korean nuclear issue and other North Korea-related issues, including contact between North Korea and Japan," he said, stressing that Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are in "close coordination" to bring Pyongyang back to the path toward denuclearization.

In 2002, Kim's father, then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, met with then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Pyongyang, and admitted that North Korean agents kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies in Japanese culture and language.

The North then allowed five of those abducted to make a temporary visit to their homeland, saying eight others were dead.

Japan refused to return the five and called on the North to repatriate their family members in the North. Japan has no formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.

Kim stressed that North Korea will not be a security threat to Japan in any case should Japan respect North Korea's sovereignty and security in a fair and equal manner, according to the KCNA.

When asked about Kim's statement during a parliamentary committee meeting Monday afternoon, Kishida said while he is not aware of the specific statement, a summit between the two countries is "important" to resolve many pending issues, including that of abductees.

In February, Kim said the North Korean regime is open to improving its relationship with Japan in response to Kishida's remarks that he feels a "strong need" to change the current relationship between Tokyo and Pyongyang, and that he is currently making related activities. (Yonhap)