A summit between Japan and North Korea has become more likely after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed a positive stance about dialogue with Japan during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae In on Friday.
However, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will maintain his stance of pursuing a comprehensive solution to the abduction of Japanese nationals (see below) by North Korea, together with issues of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development.
The realization of a Japan-North Korea summit will likely depend on whether Pyongyang will present practical plans to abandon its nuclear and missile programs toward denuclearization.
Abe met with Suh Hoon, chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, on Sunday at the Prime Minister's Office. "I'm glad that an inter-Korean summit ended successfully based on the direction of action decided by Japan, the United States and South Korea," Abe said to Suh.
"The core achievement of the South-North summit was that Chairman [of the Workers' Party of Korea] Kim Jong Un expressed an intention for 'complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' in his own words, and signed a document. From now on, cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the United States is very important," Suh replied.
The Japanese government welcomed Moon's mentioning of the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals, based on a promise to Japan.
"[Moon] did as requested," a senior government official said.
Some in the government expect that the outcome will ease criticism, mainly from opposition parties, that Japan has become the odd one out in moves on the Korean Peninsula.
Abe has repeatedly said that his Cabinet would solve the abduction issue without fail.
If North Korea presents practical action plans to abandon its nuclear and missile programs at the U.S.-N. Korea summit scheduled to be held by early June -- thus meeting a precondition for a Japan-N. Korea summit to take place -- Abe would begin concrete discussions to resolve the abduction issue at a summit meeting with Pyongyang.
If a Japan-North Korea summit is realized, it will be the third following those held in 2002 and 2004 under the administration of then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Pyongyang has maintained a stance that the abduction issue has already been solved, so negotiations are expected to be difficult.
The Japanese government intends to make progress on the abduction issue by using economic cooperation as leverage after the normalization of diplomatic ties, which are stipulated in the 2002 Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration.
The governments of Japan, the United States and South Korea share a sense of urgency that discord in their cooperation will show weakness to North Korea. The three governments also intend to closely collaborate on ministerial levels.
--Abduction of Japanese nationals
A series of incidents occurred in the 1970s and 1980s in which Japanese people went missing in Japan and abroad. The Japanese government recognized 17 people as victims of abductions by North Korea. At a Japan-North Korea summit meeting in September 2002, the North Korean side admitted to the abductions. Pyongyang claimed that among the 17, five were alive, eight had died and the remaining four had not entered North Korea. The five living abductees were repatriated, but the return of the remaining 12, including Megumi Yokota, has not been realized.
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