Japanese authorities have asked South Korea for assistance in organizing a high-level meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean media reported Monday.
The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported, citing its own sources, that Tokyo had asked Seoul to be a mediator in the talks between Abe and Kim.
This comes less than a week after Japanese media reported that Tokyo had not ruled out the possibility of holding the high-level meeting to discuss bilateral issues. On Saturday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued a statement calling on Tokyo to revise its policy on Pyongyang.
Japan made the decision to engage in a dialogue with North Korea amid a thaw in relations between Pyongyang, and Seoul and Washington.
On March 5-6, a high-ranking South Korean delegation visited North Korea for talks with Kim. After the delegation’s return, the South Korean presidential office announced that Seoul and Pyongyang had reached a historic agreement on holding the third ever summit of the countries’ leaders in late April. South Korean diplomats later delivered a message from Kim to US President Donald Trump expressing willingness to hold direct talks. Trump has accepted the invitation to meet with Kim by the end of May.