Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of Japan, announced that she has conveyed to North Korea her hope to hold a summit with Chairman Kim Jong Un.
According to Kyodo News on November 3, Prime Minister Takaichi stated at a meeting in Tokyo regarding the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, "We have already communicated to the North our desire to hold a summit."
Prime Minister Takaichi said, "No matter what it takes, I want to break through and resolve the abduction issue," adding, "I want to face the matter head-on at the summit level, take the lead myself, act boldly according to various situations, and achieve concrete results."
Previously, on October 23, Prime Minister Takaichi also stated during a meeting with the families of the abductees that she was determined to attend a summit with Chairman Kim.
On October 28, the families of the abduction victims also met with U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who were visiting Japan at the time. Prime Minister Takaichi was also present at the meeting.
The Japanese government claims that 17 of its citizens were abducted to North Korea, with 12 still unaccounted for. However, North Korea maintains that eight of the 12 have died and the remaining four never entered the country, insisting that there are no outstanding issues to resolve.
Previously, former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also pledged to work toward the return of the abductees, but there was little substantive progress.
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