Highlights: North Korea: for the Japanese Prime Minister, it is “important” to have discussions with Pyongyang. Improving bilateral relations will depend on Japanese political decisions. Kim Jong-un's sister seems to pose as a prerequisite for a rapprochement with Tokyo the abandonment of demands for resolution of the disagreement surrounding the Japanese kidnapped by the North Korean regime in the 1970s and 1980s. There are still many obstacles to overcome for Fumio Kishida before imagining a handshake with North Korea.

What is going on between North Korea and Japan? Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, assured this Monday March 25 that the Japanese Prime Minister would have expressed the intention of organizing a…

North Korea: for the Japanese Prime Minister, it is “important” to have discussions with Pyongyang

it was important to have summit discussions with North Korea

”. This meeting would be a first in 20 years and takes place in a tense regional context.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a press conference in Tokyo, December 13, 2023. via REUTERS - POOL

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Seoul,

Nicolas Rocca

Improving

bilateral relations

will depend on Japanese political decisions. The sentence is from Kim Yo-jong for whom

Japan

remains an “

enemy

” as long as it “

violates the sovereign rights of

North Korea

”. Kim Jong-un's sister seems to pose as a prerequisite for a rapprochement with Tokyo the abandonment of demands for resolution of the disagreement surrounding the Japanese kidnapped by the North Korean regime in the 1970s and 1980s. Which is difficult for Fumio to accept Kishida.

Very unpopular, the Japanese Prime Minister seems to be seeking progress on this issue to appeal to Japanese public opinion. But on a regional scale, the Japanese Prime Minister's approach is surprising, first of all in South Korea. This country with which he had undertaken a clear rapprochement, but which is now considered enemy number one of Pyongyang.

Still many obstacles to overcome for Kishida

In early March, the South Korean president said that improving relations with Japan was necessary to jointly fight the North Korean threat. And then during the Washington declaration almost a year ago, the two historic allies of the United States outlined the outline of a trilateral alliance facing North Korea, now closer than ever to Moscow.

There are therefore still many obstacles to overcome for Fumio Kishida before imagining a handshake with Kim Jong-un.

Also read: South Korea and Japan aim for rapprochement, while North Korea threatens

North Korea: for the Japanese Prime Minister, it is “important” to have discussions with Pyongyang

North Korea: for the Japanese Prime Minister, it is “important” to have discussions with Pyongyang

Still many obstacles to overcome for Kishida

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