- North Korea has declared that Kishida has suggested holding a summit with Kim Jong Un.
- Kim Yo Jong made a similar declaration about bilateral relations in February.
- Kishida wants closer ties with North Korea to boost his dwindling popularity at home.
North Korea has declared that Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, has suggested holding a summit with Kim Jong Un. Senior official and sister of North Korea, Kim Yo Jong, said that Japan is the key to fostering better bilateral relations.
She issued a warning, saying that the prime minister’s offer of talks would be seen as an attempt to boost his popularity if Japan persisted in interfering with Japan‘s exercise of sovereign rights and concentrated on the kidnapping issue.
Kishida and Kim Jong Un
Kim Yo Jong made a similar declaration about bilateral relations in February, stating that North Korea was willing to strengthen ties with Japan and that Kishida was even welcome to visit Pyongyang.
She claimed that Kishida would face criticism if he continued to press for a resolution to the alleged past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea, claiming that he would merely pursue discussions to increase his popularity.
There are no official contacts between North Korea and Japan, and their relationship has been tarnished by North Korea’s nuclear program, previous kidnappings of Japanese citizens, and Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Experts speculate that North Korea wants closer connections with Japan to undermine the trilateral security partnership between Tokyo, Seoul, and Washington. Kishida, on the other hand, wants closer ties with North Korea to boost his dwindling popularity at home.
