Leaders from North Korea aren’t known for their tact in their press releases, their humility, or even their honesty with the situation. Speaking about Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s recent comments about improving relations between Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic Korea (DPRK), Kim Yo Jong (the sister of Kim Jong-un) agreed it was time for change and growth.
Just if Kishida truly has different intentions than past leaders for Japan, that is.
“Only a politician, who has sagacity and strategic insight for looking far into the future, instead of sticking to the past, and the will and executive power to make a political decision, can take an opportunity and change history. If Japan drops its bad habit of unreasonably pulling up the DPRK over its legitimate right to self-defense and does not lay such a stumbling block as the already settled abduction issue in the future way for mending the bilateral relations, there will be no reason for the two countries not to become close,” Kim wrote.
Adding on to her statement, Kim said she doesn’t think the DPRK leadership is looking to repair the relationship at this point and doesn’t want contact to be made. She also cautioned readers to be leery of Prime Minister Kishida’s motives. Directly confirming that she was speaking only of her views and not on behalf of the DPRK, Kim reminded the people she couldn’t do so even if she wanted to.
This kind of playing nice is something that isn’t familiar to liberal Americans, but that’s also what comes with a conservative figurehead. Claiming to only be moderately conservative, Prime Minister Kishida is smart enough to know hashing out decades-old history won’t help. The still missing Japanese citizens kidnapped in the late 1970s and mid-1980s won’t get close if he does. Instead, it would ultimately result in North Korean leadership taking offense to it and terminating the relationship. That could instead trigger Kim Jong-un to attack Japan head-on.
