Japan changes stance to seek summit with N. Korea unconditionally

May 8, 2019

Tokyo--The Japanese government appears to have changed its stance to seek to have a summit with North Korea without preconditions, due to concerns that the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea could be neglected.

Among the five countries participating in the six-party framework for talks with North Korea, only Japan has not yet had a summit with North Korea under young leader Kim Jong Un.

Tokyo had demanded progress on the abduction issue as a precondition for holding a summit with North Korea.

But during telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday night, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his readiness to meet Kim unconditionally now.

"We'll tackle the issue with a resolve not to miss any chances," Abe told reporters following the talks with Trump.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taro Kono explained that the government will no longer require progress on the abductions for the start of talks with North Korea, but will aim to comprehensively address that issue and North Korea's nuclear and missile development.

Still, Kono stressed that the government has not changed its position that any summit with North Korea must be conducive to settling the abduction issue.

Abe's reference to an unconditional summit with Kim came as the government found it necessary to send a "clear message" to the North Korean leader, a senior Foreign Ministry official said.

The prime minister's remark came even after the firing by North Korea on Saturday of short-range projectiles, possibly including a short-range ballistic missile.

Abe has repeatedly asked Trump to discuss the abduction issue with Kim. The U.S. and North Korean leaders had face-to-face talks in Singapore last June and in Hanoi in February.

However, a senior Japanese government official said, "We can't find a clue (to resolving the abduction issue) unless we ourselves hold a summit (with North Korea)."

Whether Pyongyang will accept Abe's offer of an unconditional summit remains unpredictable.

North Korea reportedly suggested its willingness to accept talks with Japan during its recent summits with the United States and South Korea, but it has taken no specific action on the matter.

In the hope of encouraging North Korea to soften its stance, the Japanese government now refrains from criticizing North Korea over the firing of short-range projectiles. But the possibility of further provocative action by North Korea cannot be ruled out, observers said. Jiji Press