Japan closely watching Inter-Korean summit

April 27, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government is closely watching whether Friday's historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will produce concrete action by the North.

The government hopes the summit will be a turning point for the communist state to take steps toward scrapping its missile and nuclear programs, as well as resolving the issue of abductions of Japanese citizens decades ago, officials said.

"I believe serious discussions will take place (at the summit) with the attendance of top officials in the fields of politics, diplomacy and national defense from the North and South," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.

"I'm hoping for positive discussions toward the comprehensive settlement of outstanding issues, including the abductions and nuclear and missile programs," Suga said.

"I give credit to efforts by the South Korean government in the process to realize the summit," Suga said.

Japan and South Korea will be in close contact after the summit, Suga said, expressing Japan's hopes to get a briefing soon on the results of the summit from Seoul.

"I'd like to refrain from making comments (on the summit) at the current stage," Foreign Minister Taro Kono said, adding that he hopes to understand the situation fully first.

Japan will continue putting "maximum pressure" on the North to make it take concrete action, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said.

Katsunobu Kato, minister in charge of the abduction issue, said he will keep close tabs on possible developments on the issue. Jiji Press