Shinzo Abe hopes to meet with Kim Jong-un
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would like to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
in person as he was briefed on Monday by Suh Hoon, South Korea’s spy chief, on a South Korean
delegation’s recent trip to Pyongyang. Suh, the director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service,
met Abe in the morning in Tokyo to discuss the outcomes of a South Korean delegation’s meeting with
Kim last Wednesday. They discussed how South Korea and Japan could cooperate to bring about “
complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the Blue House said.
The South Korean intelligence chief was one of four people sent by President Moon Jae-in to accompany
his special envoy, Chung Eui-yong, the Blue House’s national security adviser, to meet with Kim and
deliver a letter on Moon’s behalf. Abe thanked Suh for visiting Japan so soon after the trip to Pyongyang
to brief him on the outcomes of the visit. “This is a good opportunity to convey to the world that Korea-Japan
relations have become that much closer since the onset of the Moon Jae-in administration,” Abe said. Suh
replied that Moon believes Abe’s role is “more important than ever regarding the issue of denuclearization
and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” adding that “communication and cooperation between South Korea
and Japan should be strengthened.”
The president, he said, “recognized the importance of close communication with Japan for the peace
and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula.” Moon also sent Suh to Tokyo shortly after his first summit with
Kim in April. After his meeting with Abe, Suh told reporters, “Prime Minister Abe said that Japan’s position
has been conveyed through President Trump and President Moon Jae-in, and expressed his strong
determination now to meet with Chairman Kim in person and hold talks with him. Prime Minister Abe said
it would be desirable for North-Japan relations to advance harmoniously alongside inter-Korean and
North-U.S. dialogue to resolve various issues.” The South Korean government’s position is that “North-Japan
relations should be revived and improved upon,” Suh added. One longstanding issue has been the North’s
abduction of Japanese nationals during the 1970s and ’80s. When asked if North-Japan talks could be
expected soon, Suh replied, “Japan and North Korea will determine the timing and method.”
Abe expressed interest in preparations for the inter-Korean summit set to take place next week and how
Kim’s willingness to denuclearize will translate to implementation, Suh said. Yoshihide Suga, Abe’s
chief cabinet secretary; Shotaro Yachi, the national security adviser; and Shigeru Kitamura, head of
Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, also participated in the meeting between Abe and
Suh. In a similar diplomatic gesture, Chung, Moon’s special envoy, traveled to Beijing on Saturday
and briefed Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo and director of the Office
of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs.