A union of Japanese lawmakers seeking the normalization of Tokyo-Pyongyang relations has reportedly decided to resume its activity amid North Korea’s growing diplomatic engagement with the outside world. 

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Friday that the union held an executives' meeting on Thursday and agreed to hold a general meeting ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit to discuss measures to help arrange a Japan-North Korea summit.  

A member of the union said the possibility is growing for a summit between Japan and North Korea following the U.S.-North Korea summit as a result of the shift in the North’s policy toward dialogue. 

The lawmaker added that the union will explore the chance of parliamentary diplomacy with the North separately from the Japanese government. 

The union was founded in 2008 to foster exchanges between Japan and North Korea. 

Its activities had been virtually put on hold since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe started taking a hard-line policy toward the North after his second inauguration in late 2012.

[Photo : YONHAP News]