U.S. special envoy on North Korea Glyn Davies said on Wednesday that he would seek explanation from Japan on the current trip of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's adviser Isao Iijima to the belligerent Communist nation, Japanese media reported.
Talking to reporters in Beijing after meeting China's special envoy for Korean peninsula affairs Wu Dawei, Davies said he had already contacted a senior Japanese official and obtained some information on Iijima's visit to Pyongyang.
Declining to elaborate, the U.S. diplomat said he would seek more details from senior officials from Japan's Foreign Ministry, including Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau chief Shinsuke Sugiyama when he visits Tokyo on Thursday.
Meanwhile, North Korea's state-run media said Iijima had met a close aide to the nation's leader Kim Jong-Un after his arrival in the country's capital Pyongyang on Tuesday.
Iijima met Kim Yong-Il, a secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, who is also in charge of foreign affairs for the party and serves as an adviser to the North Korea-Japan Friendship Association.
Details of the talks were not disclosed, but observers say the discussions included the North's abduction of Japanese nationals during World War II. Iijima is also expected to meet the North's envoy for normalizing relations with Japan, Song Il-Ho.
Abe declined to answer Japanese lawmakers question on Iijima's North Korean trip. He repeatedly refused to answer when they asked whether he was aware of his adviser's visit to Pyongyang.
Abe told them that the government alone would work to settle issues concerning North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, and its abductions of Japanese nationals. Abe referred to the 2002 Pyongyang Declaration by Japan and North Korea aiming to normalize ties after resolving pending issues.
Saying that his government's stance remains unchanged, Abe said he wanted a complete resolution of the abduction issue in particular, using both dialog and pressure.
Speaking to the Upper House budget committee of the Japanese Parliament on Wednesday, Abe said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un if it helps resolve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals.
The issue must be resolved with support from the international community. Pressure is important but that the issue will be resolved through dialog. Meeting Kim must be considered if it is seen as crucial to resolving the issue, Japan's NHK broadcaster quoted him as saying.
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