Japan begins talks with North Korea < > Japa
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Japan shares concerns about North Korea’s nuclear weapon ambitions, but doesn’t want history of abductions overlooked
By
CHIEKO
TSUNEOKA
TOKYO—Japan said it has begun talks with North Korea through its embassy in Beijing, a sign that Tokyo doesn’t want to be left on the sidelines in the recent flurry of diplomacy.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Beijing this week for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kim is also set to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, followed by a planned summit with President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s top aide, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, said that Tokyo-Pyongyang talks have begun through the two countries’ embassies in Beijing as well as through “various means.” He declined to give details.
That followed a phone call March 16 in which Abe told Moon that Tokyo wanted to talk to North Korea.