Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hinted Wednesday that he may be preparing to meet Kim Jong-un at a time when the N. Korean leader may see a resumption of ties with Tokyo as a form of relief from the harsh attitude he has been encountering from Beijing and Washington.
Abe said during a House of Councilors’ budget committee session that a meeting with Kim can help account for the Japanese nationals who had been abducted by N. Korea during the 1970s and 80s and have not yet been returned. Abe noted that a 2002 visit to Pyongyang by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led to the release of five abductees and their N. Korean families.
Cabinet Secretariat Advisor Isao Iijima had paid a surprise visit to Pyongyang Tuesday and is expected to remain there until the weekend. The timing and duration of Iijima’s visit combined with Abe’s remarks suggest a summit may be in the offing.
So far Abe has been secretive about the purpose of Iijima’s visit, saying only that the goal of diplomacy with N. Korea is “to improve relations with the North in accordance with the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration by resolving the abduction, nuclear and missile issues.”
The declaration, which resulted from Koizumi’s 2002 summit with Kim Jong-il, seeks to establish normal diplomatic ties between the two nations. The momentum toward normalized ties faded when Pyongyang stopped releasing more abduction victims and conducted a nuclear test.
“Japan seems to be putting out its own feelers because it was excluded from discussions of the North Korean issue due to conflict with South Korea and China” due to tensions caused by territorial disputes, suggested a diplomatic source in Tokyo.
On Wednesday Iijima had met with senior N. Korean official Kim Yong-il, according to the official KCNA news agency. Kim is responsible for international affairs and is seen as enjoying influence with Kim Jong-il. Iijima is likely to meet other top officials before returning to Tokyo.
A visit to Pyongyang that produces concrete results on the abduction and other issues would boost Abe’s approval rating. At the same time, a summit with Abe would give Kim Jong-un a way to salvage the influence he appears to have lost due to his unproductive recent sabre-rattling. Playing off Tokyo against Seoul and Beijing could win Pyongyang potential economic and diplomatic payoffs while boosting Tokyo’s stature with Japan’s neighbors.
A summit with Kim would also be in keeping with Abe’s series of bold moves calculated to shake up the status quo.
