Japan's premier seeks breakthrough in abduction issue with North Korea

ISTANBUL

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday said she was ready for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to solve the abductees issue and secure a peaceful future.

Takaichi made the comments during a meeting with families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, according to a post on the US social media company X.

"I am prepared" for a summit with Kim "so that both Japan and North Korea can together envision a future in which we enjoy peace and prosperity," said the Japanese prime minister, who won a landslide in snap elections held early this month.

The meeting with Takaichi in Tokyo came after the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea agreed to ease their previously uncompromising position toward Pyongyang, provided that the Japanese government succeeds in bringing every victim back to Japan.

At a joint gathering in Tokyo on Sunday, organizations representing the relatives of those abducted, along with their supporters, approved a policy of not opposing Japan’s provision of humanitarian assistance to North Korea, the removal of its unilateral sanctions, or the initiation of diplomatic normalization talks with Pyongyang, as part of efforts to secure the complete return of the victims.

The Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea also resolved that they would no longer request information from returned abductees beyond updates concerning other victims.

Calling on the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to accelerate negotiations with Pyongyang, Takuya Yokota—the 57-year-old younger brother of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korean agents in 1977 at age 13—said at a press conference that the groups had made a "painful decision."

"Although our grudge toward North Korea is ever-growing, we've concluded that a dialogue phase already started several years ago," said the head of the families’ organization. "I hope a dream I saw last night about my sister returning home comes true."

Takaichi said she would "exhaust every possible means available, and by all means" for a breakthrough with North Korea, "leading to concrete results."

Japan officially lists 17 people as "abducted" in the 1970s and 1980s by North Korea.

Five were repatriated in October 2002 following landmark talks in Pyongyang between late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

But no major progress has since been reported.

Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic ties, and Pyongyang has said the abduction issue has been solved.