Kishida's visit to N.Korea possible if abduction issue not obstacle: Kim sister

INA-  SOURCES



 
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to Pyongyang is possible, unless Tokyo makes the abduction issue an obstacle to bilateral relations.

Kim Yo Jong made the comment in a press statement through her country's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.
The statement referred to remarks by Kishida during a Diet committee session last week regarding the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea decades ago.

Kishida said it was time to boldly change the current situation between the two countries. He also said his government was making sustained efforts to communicate with North Korea through various channels and that he would do his utmost to achieve results.

Kim Yo Jong said in her statement that "there will be no reason for the two countries not to become close and the day of the prime minister's Pyongyang visit might come."

She said the visit is possible if Japan "does not lay such a stumbling block as the already settled abduction issue in the future way for mending the bilateral relations."

But Kim Yo Jong said she thinks her country's "state leadership still has no idea of repairing" ties and "has no interest" in having contact with Japan.

She also said, "It is necessary to watch the ulterior intention of Prime Minister Kishida in the future."

She said her statement only represents her "personal view" and that she is not in a position to officially comment on the bilateral ties.
Kim Yo Jong has often made public comments that appear to reflect the intent of Kim Jong Un. It is extremely rare for her to issue a statement on her personal opinion about ties between Japan and North Korea.

In 2002, Japan's then-Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met in Pyongyang for the first summit between the two countries.
North Korea's admission of the abductions at the summit led to the return of five Japanese abductees.

They are among the 17 citizens the Japanese government says were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. The other 12 remain unaccounted for. Many others, although not officially recognized, may have been taken to North Korea.
 
 
 
Source: NHK