Moon can mediate between Kim Jong-un and Abe

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe upon his arrival for a welcome and family photo session at G-20 leaders summit in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, June 28. AP-Yonhap

By Kim Yoo-chul

OSAKA, Japan _ President Moon Jae-in can play a role in arranging a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “at some point,” Moon's aides and diplomatic sources said Friday.

Their remarks came during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit where U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would support the idea of Abe meeting Kim.

“Moon could arrange a summit between Kim and Abe in cooperation with the United States and China, as Abe has long been trying to meet the North Korean leader,” a presidential aide told The Korea Times.

“Cheong Wa Dae believes that the normalization of ties between North Korea and Japan is required to advance nuclear diplomacy. In accordance with this, President Moon can play a role in brokering an Abe-Kim summit to help them resolve some outstanding issues,” the aide said requesting anonymity.

On the first day of the G20 Summit, Trump and Abe agreed to continue to fully implement United Nations Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests.

At the Trump-Abe meeting, which lasted 35 minutes, the U.S. leader reiterated his “full support” for a summit between Abe and Kim that could hopefully settle the issue of North Korea's past abduction of Japanese nationals, deputy chief cabinet secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters.

Abe has only very limited leverage in the denuclearization talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program, and will try to persuade the United States and China to convey Tokyo's interests in any negotiations.

Regarding Trump's comments on an Abe-Kim summit, a senior South Korean diplomat said Seoul has unofficially sent “relevant messages” related to such a summit taking place. “South Korea and Japan are working to resolve lots of issues for improvements on some shared goals the two countries are committed to,” he said.

Abe earlier proposed a summit with Kim “without conditions” to address several issues. But Pyongyang refused to accept the proposal, calling it “the height of brazen-faced.” Abe was hoping to bring home any surviving Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korean secret agents decades ago.

The presidential aide and the diplomat said Abe should have accepted President Moon's proposal for a joint fund with Japan to compensate South Koreans forced to work by Japanese companies during the World War II. The proposal aimed to resolve the issue that has strained ties since South Korea's top court ordered Japanese firms to compensate the former laborers.

“Unfortunately, Abe missed a chance to ask for help in organizing a summit with Kim as he didn't respond to calls from South Korea about holding a meeting with President Moon during the G20,” the diplomat said.

In a recent written interview with seven news agencies, Moon said, “History issues should not be exploited for domestic political gain as these stem from unfortunate events of the past. Even though Korea and Japan signed treaties, the wounds from the past have surfacing anew as international norms develop and awareness of human rights is enhanced.”

Under a 1965 treaty, South Korea received a package of $300 million in economic aid and $500 million in soft loans from Japan in return for Seoul considering all pre-treaty compensation issues settled.