North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, expressed an optimistic perspective on future relations between North Korea and Japan, even implying that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida would one day visit Pyongyang, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim said the two countries "can open up a new future together," after recent statements from Kishida saying he felt a "strong need" to change the relationship between the two countries.
"I think there would be no reason not to appreciate his recent speech as a positive one, if it was prompted by his real intention to boldly free himself from the past fetters," Kim said in a statement reported by KCNA.
The potential improvement in ties comes with the caveat of the long-running matter of North Korea kidnapping Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, an issue that has made Japan suspicious of North Korean intentions.
In 2002, North Korea acknowledged sending agents to abduct 13 Japanese individuals during the 1970s and 1980s, coercing them into providing training for its spies in Japanese language and customs. However, doubts still linger in Japan regarding the official recognition of the number of citizens abducted, with suspicions suggesting that there may be additional cases unaccounted for.
While making a speech at the U.N. General Assembly last year, Kishida expressed a desire to meet with North Korean leaders to resolve issues, including the kidnappings. However, historically, such meetings have not been successful.
Former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang in 2002 to normalize relations and offer economic assistance to North Korea. While the trip opened the door for the return of five Japanese nationals, the diplomacy broke down after North Korea remained cagey about the true number of abduction victims.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
