North Korea says no problem in talks with Japan

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - North Korea on Monday said that problems with Japan “have been resolved” and talks with Tokyo can be resumed.

“If Japan makes an effort to improve the relationship by making a new decision, there is no reason why the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Japan cannot meet,” North Korea’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Pak Sang Gil said.

DPRK is the official name of North Korea.

Pak said the issue of Japanese citizens “abducted by North Korea has already been resolved and there is no problem for the resumption of bilateral talks,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.

There have been two summit meetings and talks between Korea and Japan, but it is necessary to take a “cold-blooded look” at why relations between the two countries have only “deteriorated,” Pak stated.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed on Saturday his desire to initiate high-level discussions between Tokyo and Pyongyang with the aim of organizing a meeting with Kim soon.

During a gathering in Tokyo focused on seeking the repatriation of the abducted Japanese nationals, Kishida reaffirmed his dedication to achieving unconditional dialogue with Kim "as soon as possible."

A dozen Japanese citizens, abducted by North Korea to be employed in its spy service in the late 1970s and early 1980s, still remain unaccounted for.

Most were in their twenties when they were kidnapped.

In 2002, Japan’s then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took an unprecedented step and went to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

The bilateral talks resulted in the return of five abductees after Kim admitted to the kidnapping and issued an apology.

Japan’s government identifies 17 individuals who were kidnapped and questions the North Korean account that eight died and the four never entered the country.