No sign of Japan-North Korea summit coming soon

There is no sign that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe anytime soon. Photo: AP

Rather than ignoring the need to initiate dialogue with Japan, Pyongyang has also sharply criticized its longtime rival, with the intention of fanning domestic nationalist sentiment and strengthening ties with Seoul.

A well-informed source said that, in the context of Japan-North Korea relations being considered at an unprecedented low, Tokyo "should not expect a summit between the two countries' leaders to take place in the near future."

While improving relations with other countries such as South Korea and the United States, North Korea has recently increased its criticism of the Abe administration, demanding that Japan atone for its past military aggression and colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula.

“The harsh comments aimed at Japan are a glue that binds the Korean people together and reflects the nationalist spirit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,” said Stephen Nagy, senior associate professor of political studies at the International Catholic University (ICU) in Tokyo. “Japan represents the historical experience that helped form the Korean nation, the division of the Korean Peninsula, and the nuclear standoff today.”

“These are all things that define North Korea today, because they have been ingrained and exaggerated over generations of Koreans,” added Nagy, who is also a fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. “It will be very difficult to change Pyongyang’s view of Japan, even if the two sides separate.”

North Korea wants to strengthen relations with South Korea. Photo: Getty

Meanwhile, an expert at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing (China) said that North Korea cannot make efforts to reconcile with Japan soon, based on Prime Minister Abe's continued hardline stance towards Pyongyang.

“While South Korea, Russia, and China all have a more flexible approach when engaging with the North Korean issue, Japan naturally becomes a ‘nut’ for North Korea to crush,” the expert commented.

Malcolm Cook, an expert from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that Japan-North Korea relations "may not improve as long as Japan maintains full sanctions against North Korea".

Tokyo and Pyongyang also disagree over the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the past.

“I wonder why Japan has not made any efforts to resolve the abduction issue after normalizing relations with North Korea,” said a European diplomat at the Beijing embassy. “If the Japanese government does not change its policy, it will not be able to break the ice.”