Japan seeks to reignite abductee issue
By Lee Min-hyung
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Japan has asked South Korea to request the repatriation of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea during its upcoming talks with Washington and Pyongyang, according to reports Sunday.
The issue was brought up Saturday in a meeting between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono. Both sides agreed to cooperate with each other in resolving the repatriation of a number of Japanese citizens kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s.
“We are going to establish a close alliance with Japan in settling the issue,” Kang said during the meeting in Washington.
Japan is going all-out to use Pyongyang's planned summits with Seoul and Washington as opportunities to resolve the abduction issue.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his determination to normalize diplomatic relations with North Korea by solving such pending problems as the regime's nuclear and missile threats and repatriation of Japanese nationals.
In a telephone conversation with President Moon Jae-in, Friday, Abe asked for Moon to discuss the issue during the upcoming inter-Korean summit scheduled in late April.
Abe also signaled his strong willingness to possibly hold dialogue with Pyongyang by joining the rare mood for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Starting this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un showed signs of thawing his country's diplomatic ties with Seoul. Inter-Korean relations have since rapidly improved and reached a peak when Kim invited President Moon for a summit in Pyongyang.
Moon accepted the offer, and helped extend Kim's peace gestures to the United States. This allowed Kim to offer a summit with United States President Donald Trump. The U.S. leader welcomed the suggestion, and said Washington is ready to engage in dialogue with the regime once it pledges to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
Tokyo also aims to jump on the peace bandwagon and is seeking to arrange a summit with the North Korean leader.
President Moon and Abe also agreed to join hands with each other to push for a trilateral summit of leaders from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan at the earliest possible date.
Unlike the recent peace signals sent to Seoul and Washington, however, Pyongyang urged Tokyo to drop its strong anti-North Korea stance.
According to the regime's state-run Korean Central News Agency, Saturday, the North said it may not be able to “get a ticket to Pyongyang” unless Japan stops stepping up sanctions and pressure on the North.
Meanwhile, the two Koreas agreed to hold their third historic summit at the Peace House in the southern part of the truce village of Panmunjeom sometime late next month. Washington and Pyongyang have yet to confirm when leaders from both sides will meet.