N Korea says Japan’s Kishida wants to meet Kim

SEOUL/TOKYO: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said on Monday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had conveyed his intention to meet the North Korean leader, state media reported.

But Kim said that improving relations between the two countries will depend on whether Japan, which occupied the Korean peninsula from 1910-45, can make practical political decisions.

“The prime minister should know that just because he wants to and has made a decision, it doesn’t mean he can or the leadership of our country will meet him,” Kim was quoted as saying in the KCNA report in Korean.

She was quoted as saying Kishida had made his intention known through “another channel”, without giving details.

“What is clear is that when Japan antagonises the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and violates its sovereign rights, it is considered our enemy and will become part of the target,” Kim added, using the official name of North Korea.

Relations between the two countries have been strained over disputes dating back to Japan’s occupation. Koreans accuse Japan of forcing women to work in wartime brothels for the Japanese military and using forced labour, among other issues.

Kishida has said he wants to hold talks with Kim Jong Un “without any preconditions” and is personally overseeing efforts to realise the first such summit in 20 years.

Asked about Kim’s comment, Kishida reiterated the importance of a summit to resolve issues such as the matter of Japanese citizens kidnapped by Pyongyang’s agents decades ago.

“Nothing has been decided for now,” he told reporters.

The United States, which is due to host Kishida for a summit with President Joe Biden on April 10, said it had been clear in emphasizing the importance of dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea.