Japanese Politician Calls for Dialogue with North Korea to Resolve Tensions; Notes, Abe Did Not Endorse U.S. Strike on Syria

PRESS RELEASE

Japanese Politician Calls for Dialogue with North Korea To Resolve Tensions; Abe Did Not Endorse U.S. Strike on Syria

April 18, 2017 (EIRNS)—Muneo Suzuki, the head of the New Party Daichi of Japan and unofficial advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, called for dialogue with North Korea in order to resolve the tensions of the Korean Peninsula.

"I believe that pressure should not remain the only tool of interaction. At the same time we must try to involve North Koreans in a dialogue on the international arena. One should express wisdom, find a right approach—that will not be easy but it does not mean that one should sit idle,"

Suzuki told the Russian Izvestia newspaper. He also pointed out the important roles of the United States and China in solving the North Korean nuclear issue.

Suzuki also has clarified the important point, that Prime Minister Abe did not endorse the U.S. strike on Syria. Suzuki told Izvestia April 18,

"Shinzo Abe, despite some media reports, did not express support for the U.S. military action in Syria during the conversation with Donald Trump."

Suzuki said, Abe "did not mention that at all." (Media had reported that Trump had thanked Abe for Japan’s support.) Suzuki went on to say that he had told Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov that Abe had "taken into account the Russian factor." Abe is scheduled to visit Russia on April 27-28.