Regarding the Japan-North Korea summit meeting, Kim Jong Il and his sister speak again - how to interpret the content?

On the 25th of this month, Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jung Eun, issued a statement stating that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had expressed his desire to have a direct meeting with Kim.
expressed. The Korean Central News Agency reported on the same day. Mr. Yomasa also issued a statement in February, in which he mentioned the possibility of accepting Prime Minister Kishida's visit to North Korea. However, as with the February statement, as a precondition for the summit meeting,
He asked them not to take up the abduction issue. The first Japan-North Korea summit meeting was held on September 17, 2002, when then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited North Korea. Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il (Kim Jong-il)
The book acknowledges North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals and apologizes. Five of the abductees were reported to be alive, while eight others, including Megumi Yokota, were reported to have died. The following month, five abductees returned to the country. In 2004, Mr. Koizumi revisited North Korea.
Five family members of the abductees returned to the country. Subsequently, in 2014, the Japanese and North Korean governments signed the Stockholm Agreement, which included a re-investigation of North Korean abduction victims and the lifting of some of Japan's own sanctions.
"announced. North Korea established a special investigation committee, but in 2016 it carried out nuclear tests and missile launches. As Japan tightens its own sanctions, North Korea declares the dissolution of the commission and aims to make progress.
The Stockholm Accords were vainly hoped for and failed. At the U.S.-North Korea summit talks in June 2018 and February 2019, then-U.S. President Trump raised the abduction issue, but North Korea did not take any concrete action.
It never came out. North Korea continues to insist that the abduction issue has been ``resolved,'' and the stalemate continues to this day. A Japan-North Korea summit meeting has not been held since May 2004.
. In May of last year, Prime Minister Kishida spoke at a rally calling for the return of abductees to the country, and expressed his desire to ``conduct high-level discussions under my direct control'' toward the realization of a Japan-North Korea summit. Using the expression "directly under"
This was the first time that this had happened, and at the time it was interpreted as a sign that the Prime Minister was willing to take the lead in working through all negotiation lines to resolve the issue.
Then, in February of this year, Mr. Yo Jong hinted at the possibility of holding a Japan-North Korea summit meeting through the Korean Central News Agency.
He gave a speech with unusual content. The statement said, ``If the abduction issue, which has already been resolved, is discarded as an obstacle to relations between the two countries, there is no reason why the two countries cannot get closer together.''
He might come." On the other hand, Mr. Yomasa added a note about the content of the statement, saying, ``This is my personal opinion, and I am not in a position to officially evaluate the Asahi-Japan relationship.'' However, Mr. Yosho has
He has often issued messages based on Kim Jong Il's wishes, and his statements were analyzed as reflecting Kim Jong Il's wishes.
On the 4th of this month, Prime Minister Kishida met with the families of the abductees at the prime minister's official residence. La
After receiving the campaign policy of the Family Association, which states that they will not oppose the Japanese government's lifting of its own sanctions if the return of the victims to the country is realized, the prime minister said, ``I strongly feel everyone's urgent feelings. Not yet
I must take the initiative myself to chart the future,'' he said, reaffirming his desire to hold a Japan-North Korea summit. Against this backdrop, Mr. Yo Jong issued another statement through the Korean Central News Agency on the 25th.
. Prime Minister Kishida recently announced that he had conveyed to North Korea his intention to meet with Kim Jong Il "as soon as possible." Mr. Yomasa said that what is important for moving Japan-North Korea relations forward is that “Japan’s
"It is a political decision," he said, echoing North Korea's position regarding the abduction issue as resolved, as in the February statement. If Prime Minister Kishida is insistent on the abduction issue, the idea of a summit meeting is ``just trying to gain popularity.''
``It will be impossible to avoid the reputation of being nothing more than a public figure.'' Regarding the statement, Prime Minister Kishida told reporters on the 25th, ``I am aware of the statement,'' and added, ``We need money to resolve the outstanding issues.''
I have stated that a top-level meeting with General Secretary Kim Kim is important. I have said that I will carry out various efforts under my direct control. I will refrain from going into details, but I have said this myself.
” he said. However, regarding the holding of a Japan-North Korea summit meeting, he only stated, ``It's a matter of the other party, and nothing has been decided at this point.''
The Korean media also paid attention to the discussion. Yonhap News reported, ``Mr. Kishida intends to hold a summit meeting with Mr. Kim Jong Un.
Although he has shown greed several times in the past, Yo Jong's statement is noteworthy because it acknowledges that North Korea and Japan are actually conducting negotiations related to the summit. It was reported. on the other hand
Yonhap also reported, ``Some believe that Yo Jong's pressure on Japan through his statements indicates that behind-the-scenes negotiations are not going smoothly.''