TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday reiterated his eagerness to realize a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an effort to swiftly resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.

“It’s crucial for leaders to first form a relationship that allows for frank discussions,” Kishida said at a rally in Tokyo to seek the immediate return of all abductees. “I’ll make best efforts.”

The prime minister also said that establishing fruitful relations between Japan and North Korea would be in the interest of both countries.

“We must not waste a single moment, and now is the time to drastically change the status quo,” he added.

At the same gathering in May last year, Kishida announced his wish to hold “high-level talks” under his direct command to realize the summit.

On Saturday, he explained that Japan continues to work through various channels to reach out to North Korea in various ways.

An official close to Kishida said: “It’s hard to make progress (in efforts to resolve the abduction issue) without summit talks. It would still be meaningful for the prime minister to visit North Korea even if he cannot bring back the abductees.”

In March, Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of the North Korean leader, declared that Pyongyang would reject any negotiations with Japan.

With North Korea apparently deepening its ties with Russia recently, the outlook is uncertain as to when a Kishida-Kim summit can be realized. A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, “Things won’t move until the outcome of the November U.S. presidential election is known.”

At Saturday’s rally, joined by some 800 people, including the abductees’ families, their supporters and lawmakers, a resolution demanding the immediate return of all abductees to Japan was adopted.

Takuya Yokota, 55, who heads a group of abductees’ families, told the rally, “We can never forgive (North Korea), but we’ve made a difficult decision to shift our focus to dialogue, giving priority to the parents’ generation being able to reunite with their families.”

“The abduction issue should be recognized as a humanitarian problem with time constraints,” said Yokota, a younger brother of Megumi, who was abducted to North Korea in 1977 when she was 13.

In February, the group announced a policy of not opposing the possible lifting of Japan’s sanctions against Pyongyang if all abductees can return home all at once.

JIJI Press