N. Korea’s Kim ready for dialogue with Japan

April 29, 2018

Tokyo- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signaled his country's readiness to hold dialogue with Japan during Friday's inter-Korean summit, it was learned Sunday.

During the meeting with Kim, South Korean President Moon Jae-in brought up the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens, according to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe and Moon had telephone talks on Sunday in which the South Korean president explained the results of the historic meeting with Kim.

In their conversation, which lasted about 40 minutes, Abe and Moon also agreed that they will urge North Korea to take concrete actions toward complete denuclearization.

According to officials at the South Korean presidential office, Moon told Kim that Abe is ready to have dialogue with North Korea in order to normalize Tokyo's relations with Pyongyang by reaching a settlement over their past.

Kim replied that his country is ready to have dialogue with Japan anytime, the officials said.

In response, Moon offered to work as a bridge between Japan and North Korea, according to the officials.

Both Japanese and South Korean government officials stopped short of elaborating on how Kim reacted to Moon's reference to the abduction issue.

In the phone talks, Abe and Moon confirmed the need for efforts to ensure that North Korea takes concrete actions to abandon ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons.

Abe said he highly appreciates the clear reference to "complete denuclearization" in the Panmunjom declaration adopted at the inter-Korean summit.

The Japanese leader also met with visiting Suh Hoon, head of the South Korean National Intelligence Service, for about 80 minutes to receive further explanations about the summit.

Abe and Suh also discussed possible dialogue between Japan and North Korea. After the meeting, Suh told reporters that Abe expressed his deep interest in the envisioned dialogue. Suh accompanied Moon in the inter-Korean summit.

Abe had asked Moon to raise the abduction issue during the summit, and Moon last week promised to do so.

"President Moon conveyed my opinions about the abduction issue and the Japan-North Korea relations to chairman Kim. I thank Moon for his sincerity," Abe told reporters after the phone conversation.

In the phone talks, Abe and Moon also confirmed that they will add efforts to build a future-oriented bilateral relationship by taking advantage of Moon's planned visit to Japan that will coincide with a trilateral summit including China in May. Jiji Press