Seoul, Feb 16 (EFE).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister said that the country was open to improving its relationship with Japan and that a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Pyongyang could transpire in the future.
“Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida reportedly told the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly that he strongly feels the need to boldly change the current situation…and that it is very important for him to establish a proactive relationship” with North Korea,” Kim Yo-jong said in remarks published by state-run news agency KCNA on Thursday.
“If Prime Minister Kishida’s recent remarks are based on his sincere intention to boldly break free from the shackles of the past and move forward DPRK-Japan relations, I believe that there is no reason why it cannot be evaluated as positive,” she added.
Kim acknowledged that “the day may come when the (Japanese) prime minister will visit Pyongyang” but added that “so far, the DPRK (North Korea’s official name) state leadership does not have any plan for improving DPRK-Japan relations and has no interest in contacts.”
Kishida is scheduled to visit South Korea at the end of March to hold a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, his second visit to Seoul.
Since denuclearization negotiations with the United States failed in 2019, North Korea approved a weapons modernization plan and, in addition to rejecting the resumption of dialogue, has sought closer ties with Beijing and Moscow. EFE
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