Japanese PM Conveys Intent to Hold Summit with North Korean Leader

Tokyo, 25 Mar (ONA) —- Fumio Kishida, Japanese Prime Minister expressed his intention to meet Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader, North Korean official media reported today.

North Korean Leader's sister Kim Yo Jong said in a statement that Kishida wants to hold talks with Kim as soon as possible, according to Japan's news agency (Kyodo).

In response to these statements, Kishida stressed in a parliament today the importance of summit talks to secure the return of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s.

Kim Yo Jong, a senior official in North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea, announced previously that Kishida's visit to Pyongyang is possible if Tokyo does not make the issue of the past abductions of Japanese nationals an obstacle between the two countries.

There are no official diplomatic ties between the two countries, as relations between them have often witnessed tension over issues including compensation for the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula between the years 1910 and 1914, and more recently Pyongyang's firing of missiles over Japanese territory.

—- Ends/Khalid