North Korean leader's sister opens door to improved ties with Japan

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Thursday that Pyongyang could potentially be open to improving ties with Japan and hosting a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. File Pool

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (UPI) — Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said that Pyongyang would be open to improving relations with Japan and potentially hosting a visit from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, state-run media reported.

Kim made the remarks on Thursday night in response to recent calls by Kishida for a summit with Kim Jong Un to help “[raise] Japan-North Korea relations to a new stage” and resolve the longstanding issue of the North’s abductions of Japanese citizens.

“I think there would be no reason not to appreciate [Kishida’s] recent speech as a positive one, if it was prompted by his real intention to boldly free himself from the past fetters and promote the DPRK-Japan relations,” Kim said in a statement carried by Korean Central News Agency.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

However, she cautioned that Tokyo would have to drop its criticisms of Pyongyang’s illicit missile and nuclear programs and set aside the “already settled abduction issue” before any steps could be taken.

Under such conditions, “there will be no reason for the two countries not to become close and the day of the prime minister’s Pyongyang visit might come,” Kim said.

The abduction issue has remained a deeply contentious one between the two countries for decades.

Japan says at least 17 citizens were kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s for purposes that included giving language lessons to the North’s spies.

In 2002, North Korea admitted to abducting 13 Japanese citizens and allowed five to return home, while claiming eight others had died.

Japan’s top government spokesman said Friday that Tokyo was “paying attention” to the remarks by Kim but called her claims about the abduction issue “completely unacceptable.”

Kishida raised the issue of a meeting with Kim Jong Un at the U.N. General Assembly in September, saying he was determined to meet the North Korean leader face-to-face without any conditions.

The potential thaw in the relationship comes as North Korea has hardened its belligerent stance toward South Korea with a steady stream of threatening words and missile launches.

Japan has frequently condemned North Korea’s weapons tests, which have included ballistic missiles flying near Japan on several occasions. Tokyo has also grown closer to Seoul and Washington, with security cooperation ramping up in the wake of a trilateral Camp David summit in August.

While North Korea generally uses hostile rhetoric toward Tokyo, last month Kim Jong Un sent a rare message of sympathy to Kishida over the deadly New Year’s Day earthquake that struck central Japan.

In her message Thursday, Kim Yo Jong cautioned that the positive response was her “personal view only” and did not represent Pyongyang’s official stance.

“I think our state leadership still has no idea of repairing the DPRK-Japan relations and has no interest in contact,” she said.

“It is necessary to watch the ulterior intention of Prime Minister Kishida in the future,” she added.