Foreign Min. Kamikawa Aims to Realize Japan-N. Korea Summit

Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Monday vowed to keep making diplomatic efforts to realize a summit between the leaders of Japan and North Korea. In an interview with Jiji Press and others, Kamikawa, who took office as foreign minister last month, voiced her resolve to bring home as soon as possible all Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago. Noting that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has expressed his eagerness to talk face to face with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without preconditions, Kamikawa said, "I will relay the prime minister's resolve from our position of seeking to resolve pending issues with North Korea to open up a new era together." "As foreign minister, I will spearhead diplomatic efforts to hold such a summit as soon as possible," she added. On a Japan-Ukraine meeting to be held in Tokyo at the beginning of next year to discuss Ukraine's economic reconstruction from Russia's invasion, Kamikawa said she will boost efforts to encourage projects related to Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction through public-private cooperation. In December this year, a special summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will take place in the Japanese capital. Mentioning the 50th anniversary of friendship and cooperation between the two sides this year, Kamikawa said she will present at the planned summit a vision to further enhance cooperation over common issues, such as those related to the security environment and economic dependence. Japan hosted a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major advanced nations in April in the central Japan town of Karuizawa. The G-7 ministers exchanged views on pressing issues concerning Ukraine, China and the Indo-Pacific region, Kamikawa said, adding that she wants to deepen discussions on Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region in an upcoming meeting of the G-7 foreign ministers in November. Pointing to unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas and the growing threat of North Korea's nuclear and missile development, Kamikawa said, "Strengthening security cooperation between Japan, the United States and South Korea has never been more important than it is." END