SCMP: Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong-un could meet

Cover Photo & Original Article by SCMP / Kyodo: Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong-un could meet after North Korean leader says he’s willing

So in the Japanese newspaper, Sankei Shimbun (産経ニュース) reported that Kim said he is willing to meet Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

The Sankei newspaper said Kim discussed the possibility during historic talks on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump.

“During the summit with Trump, Kim told Trump ‘I can meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’,” the Sankei reported.

So there are some speculation about how this meeting would happen. Although in my opinion, this meeting could happen as soon as next month – given how fast Kim Jong-Un and his government had been pushing the entire change in foreign policy up till now – I expect this pace to continue until all sanctions are lifted on North Korea.

And yes, China will not be happy with this development as well.

Read More: The Age of Kim Jong-Un and his Secret Agenda

Japanese foreign ministry officials plan to hold talks with North Korean officials at an international security conference in Mongolia this week as they try to firm up plans, local media said.

“If [Abe’s] visit to Pyongyang in August proves difficult,” he could hold talks with Kim on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok in September, the Yomiuri said.

Top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga declined to confirm the reports, telling reporters on Thursday that “nothing has been decided at the moment”.

“If a Japan-North Korea summit takes place, it is extremely important that it would lead to a solution of the nuclear, missile, and above all, abduction issues,” he added.

Much of the Japanese concerns, center mostly on the abductions made by North Korea on Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. Official tally of abductees is 17 people.

The Japanese government has officially listed 17 people as abductees, but there are strong suspicions that dozens more were snatched.

Abe will meet later on Thursday with relatives of those abducted and pledge to resolve the issue in talks with Kim, local media said.

Japan has repeatedly called for the issue to be raised in discussions with Pyongyang, and Trump said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that he had discussed the issue with Kim.

And Trump apparently did his part in reminding Kim Jong-Un about Japan’s core interest on North Korea…

Japan has maintained a hardline position on North Korea despite the stepped-up diplomacy with Pyongyang in recent months, and has been left largely on the sidelines as South Korea and the United States have held talks with Kim.

Kim and Trump signed a document on Tuesday after their talks in which the North Korean leader reaffirmed his commitment to “work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” without giving further details.

It made no reference to other weapons capabilities, including the missiles that North Korea has fired over Japan, nor to people abducted by North Korea.

Read the Original Article by SCMP: Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong-un could meet after North Korean leader says he’s willing