The Telegraph: Japan and North Korea held secret meeting
Japan held a “secret” meeting with North Korea in Vietnam in July without informing the United States, according to media reports.
Japan and North Korea held secret meeting as Shinzo Abe ‘loses trust’ in Donald Trump
As Mr Abe prepares to seek his third term as prime minister, the decades-old abduction issue remains a major stumbling block in normalising diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea. Tokyo officials, who refused to comment on reports of the secret meeting, have acknowledged that to negotiate the return of Japanese abductees, they are unable to rely on the US, according to the Washington Post.
Talks were reportedly held between Shigeru Kitamura, head of Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and Kim Song-hye, a senior North Korean official in charge of reunification.
Japan’s decision not to inform the US government of the meeting, which was reported in the Washington Post, was said to have caused “irritation” among senior officials.
The talks also reflect Tokyo’s growing concern that it is unable to depend on the US to lobby on its behalf in relation to key domestic issues such as the abduction of its citizens in North Korea.
A japanese government source said Kim Jong Un (right) expressed readiness to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. | KYODO, XINHUA NEWS AGENCY / VIA KYODO
The sensational headline that Japan “loses trust” in Donald Trump, in my opinion is an exaggeration. Japan probably understood that Donald Trump is unlikely to complicate the talks with North Korea by adding in the Japanese issues, and simply decided it is easier to negotiate with North Koreans themselves (and its more manageable too)
This is likely to be a positive development for North Korea, and in my opinion, for United States too. The more “open up” North Korea is, with each increasing diplomatic channel – the more North Korea have no choice but to conform and join the established world order.