N. Korea and Japan hold several secret meetings in China: Kyodo

It appears as though North Korea and Japanhave been engaging in some secret diplomacy,.holding a number of meetings in China.A Japanese news agency says Tokyo might beattempting to kickstart a stalled probe into Japanese abducted by North Korean agents decadesago.Connie Kim reports.North Korea and Japan have reportedly beenholding secret meetings in recent months in an attempt to solve pending bilateral issuesand open up a new dialogue channel.Citing multiple sources, Japan’s Kyodo NewsAgency reported on Tuesday that officials from Japan’s foreign ministry and representativesfrom the International Department of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party met at leastthree times in Chinese cities between September and November.The news agency said Tokyo may be aiming tobreak the stalemate on the issue of Japanese abducted by North Korea during the 1970s and80s.North Korea and Japan have no formal diplomaticties.The informal talks reportedly took place oncebefore the North’s fifth nuclear test in early September and continued into October and November.Kyodo reports that a meeting in October evenbrought together high ranking officials representing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and JapanesePrime Minister Shinzo Abe.The news agency said Pyongyang may be tryingto re-establish ties with Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party as Kim Jong-un shored uphis power base at the seventh Workers’ Party Congress earlier this year.Officially,.the Japanese government deniesany meetings have taken place.In 2014,.Japan and North Korea agreed toa comprehensive re-investigation of Japanese abductees in the North.with Tokyo liftingsanctions in return.But, with Pyongyang repeatedly postponingthe results of the investigation, Japan slapped strong sanctions on North Korea in Februaryfor the regime’s fourth nuclear test conducted the month before.It also disbanded its investigation team intothe abductions.Connie Kim, Arirang News.Source: YoutubeSHARE