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| President Donald Trump welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2018. Korea Times file |
By Kim Bo-eun
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is continuing to offer to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but the North has remained silent.
Experts say Abe's efforts are intended on getting to play a role in the denuclearization process, as Tokyo has largely remained excluded so far.
The Japanese leader vowed to take action to resolve the abductee issue, and said he needs to meet with the North Korean leader to enable this, in a meeting with ruling party lawmakers, Japanese media reported Tuesday. Abe also had a meeting with relatives of the abductees the same day.
As a means to keep its alliance with Washington tight, Tokyo is also reportedly seeking for Trump to be the first foreign head of state to meet with Emperor Naruhito, who in May will succeed his father Akihito, the current emperor.
The Sankei Shimbun reported Japan is planning to invite Trump to visit the new emperor in May, ahead of a scheduled visit for the G20 summit to be held in Osaka the following month.
Abe's recommendation of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is also seen as part of efforts to build a closer relationship.
Last year, the Japanese leader flew to Washington to meet Trump right ahead of the U.S. president's first summit with Kim in June.
Abe has also sought to meet directly with Kim since the North Korean leader began engaging in dialogue with the South and U.S. over giving up its nuclear program.
Japan's stakes in North Korea's nuclear disarmament concern the latter's short- and medium-range missiles, which can reach Tokyo. In 2017, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles over Japan. Other missiles have landed in the East Sea between the two.
Tokyo's concerns have grown over the possibility of Washington focusing only on dismantling Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are believed to be capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
Meanwhile, the issue of abductees remains unresolved. This concerns what Japan claims was North Korea's abduction of 15 Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, for the purpose of training North Korean spies.
North Korea has only admitted to being responsible for 13 of them, eight of whom the regime claims died. Five have returned to Japan.
