North Korea Declines Any Discussions with Japanese Representatives, According to KCNA
Bollywoodfever, March, 29: North Korea has expressed disinterest in engaging in talks with Japan, as reported by the state-run KCNA, quoting Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui.
Despite Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s expressed desire for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “without any preconditions” and his active efforts to organize the first leaders’ summit in two decades, North Korea has dismissed the possibility of such a meeting, indicating a persistent chill in the historically tense relations between the two nations.
According to KCNA, Choe Son Hui also remarked that North Korea has no plans to assist in resolving the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang, warning that any Japanese encroachment on North Korea’s sovereignty would be met with a “stern response.”
Furthermore, North Korea’s ambassador to China, Ri Ryong Nam, stated that there would be no interactions with Japan at any level, as confirmed in a separate KCNA publication. This statement came after a Japanese embassy official in Beijing reached out via email suggesting a meeting with a counselor from the North Korean embassy, to which Ri responded, reiterating North Korea’s stance against any diplomatic engagements with Japan.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, mentioned that dialogue could only be possible if Japan approached with the intention of making a fresh start, free from “being obsessed by the past.”
The backdrop to these strained relations includes several contentious issues, such as North Korea’s abductions of Japanese citizens in the early 2000s, the historical occupation of the Korean peninsula by Japan from 1910 to 1945, and disputes over forced labor and sexual slavery during that period. Additionally, tensions have been exacerbated by disagreements over North Korea’s nuclear and missile development programs.
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