Japan’s Shinzo Abe Offers ‘Unconditional’ Meeting with Kim Jong Un

May 2, 2019 (EIRNS)—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made an important overture to North Korea, telling Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun yesterday that he is willing to meet Kim Jong Un without the preconditions he has previously set for any such meeting, reported AFP and Kyodo.

“I want to meet Chairman Kim Jong Un unconditionally and talk with him frankly with an open mind. It is more than important for our country to be proactive in tackling the issue. We can’t break the shell of mutual distrust between Japan and North Korea unless I directly face Mr. Kim. I hope that he is a leader who can make a decision strategically and flexibly on what is best for his nation,”

Abe told the paper.

Such face-to-face talks between serious national leaders has proven critical in the recent period to breaking through historic hostilities, as demonstrated in President Donald Trump’s meetings with Chairman Kim Jong Un, and China’s President Xi Jinping, and Xi’s meetings with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.