According to Shinzo Abe, such a meeting is necessary to make progress in the repatriation of the Japanese abducted by DPRK intelligence in the 1970s.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe remains ready to hold talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un without any preconditions. The head of the Japanese government said this in an interview with the Sankei Shimbun newspaper published on Friday.
“[That position has not changed at all. And we will take all possible steps through various channels”, – he said, stressing that he will make every effort to solve the problem of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean intelligence.
Last year, Shinzo Abe repeatedly stated openly that he was ready to hold a meeting with the leader of North Korea. According to the head of the Japanese government, the meeting with Kim Jong-un is necessary to make progress in the repatriation of the Japanese who were abducted by North Korean intelligence in the 1970s.
The topic of Japanese abductions by DPRK intelligence agencies is one of the most painful in the relations between the two countries, which do not maintain official diplomatic ties. In 2002, Pyongyang first acknowledged the abduction of only 13 Japanese citizens and allowed five of them to return home. The others were declared dead and their relatives were sent the remains, the authenticity of which could not be confirmed.
In May 2014, the Governments of Japan and the DPRK agreed to conduct a new investigation into the abduction of Japanese citizens, but the commission was subsequently dissolved at the initiative of Pyongyang.