U.S. says it would welcome dialogue between North, Japan

The U.S. government on Tuesday (local time) said it would “welcome” dialogue between North Korea and Japan, but also made clear it will not abandon its policy of pursuing the “full denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Jan. 29. [AP/YONHAP]

The U.S. government on Tuesday (local time) said it would “welcome” dialogue between North Korea and Japan, but also made clear it will not abandon its policy of pursuing the “full denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

The comments by U.S. Defense and State Department spokespeople came after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said via state media last week that the regime is receptive to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s stated desire for a potential meeting with her brother.

In a press briefing with reporters, Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that Washington supports “diplomatic outreach” to Pyongyang and continues to seek dialogue with the regime.

“We want to see regional stability in the region. If those conversations lead to that, we certainly welcome that.”

But Washington’s response to the possibility of a resumption of diplomatic engagement between Pyongyang and Tokyo was tinged with caution over Kim Yo-jong’s prerequisites for talks, which included demands that Japan not bring up its nuclear weapons program or the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 80s, which is Kishida’s primary agenda for seeking a meeting.

During a State Department press briefing, spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of North Korea and Japan remains a “pretty big ‘if,’” and that Washington would wait to see the Japanese government’s response to Kim’s statement.

Miller also declined to comment on Pyongyang’s motives for responding to Kishida’s comments, calling it “a question for North Korea.”

In a meeting with the Diet on Feb. 9, Kishida said he was seeking a summit with Kim “in various ways” and that he feels a “strong need to change the status quo” and “build relations between the leaders.”

Since taking office, Kishida has voiced his willingness to meet Kim to discuss the issue of the abductions of Japanese citizens.

According to the Japanese government, North Korea abducted 17 of its citizens in the 1970s and ‘80s, five of whom were returned to Japan in 2002 after then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Pyongyang.

In his comments to reporters, Miller also said that the “full denuclearization of North Korea” and the Korean Peninsula will “continue to be [U.S.] policy” and that goal “will not change.”

Some experts say Kim’s surprise response to Kishida’s recent comments could be a part of a strategy to wreak division between South Korea and Japan, as both countries have pursued stronger joint security cooperation with the United States.

“North Korea knows that it would be difficult to improve North Korea-Japan relations without raising the issue of abductees and nuclear and missile issues, but it still is going ahead with the idea because it sees Japan as a so-called ‘weak link’ in the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan,” said Lim Eul-chul, professor of North Korean studies at the Institute for Far East Studies at Kyungnam University, in comments to the JoongAng Ilbo.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]