Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said he respects South Korea’s contribution and efforts toward making the inter-Korean summit happen. 

Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Friday, Kono said Tokyo is continuously communicating with Seoul about the summit, adding that he believes Seoul will provide information on the results after the talks are over. 

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a news briefing that he believes the leaders of the two Koreas will hold sincere discussions on Friday. He said he hopes the summit will involve positive discussions on seeking comprehensive resolutions to the North’s nuclear and missile programs as well as the issue of Japanese abductees in the North. 

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said it’s hard to tell what results the summit will yield. He said what is important is to bring substantial action by the North on the issues of the Japanese abductees and its nuclear and missile programs through the inter-Korean summit and the subsequent North-U.S. summit. He also stressed that Seoul, Tokyo and Washington share the view that the North must scrap its short and mid-range missiles. 

Japan’s minister in charge of abduction issues, Katsunobu Kato, said families whose relatives have been abducted by the North are watching the summit with keen interest, adding that Tokyo is also closely observing the summit as it leads up to the Washington-Pyongyang summit.

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