Kim Jong Un's Official Accuses Japan of 'Shameless' Hypocrisy Over Decades-Old Abduction Issue: 'Insult To History'

A Kim Jong Un official criticized Japan for its persistent demand to resolve the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals decades ago. 

What Happened: Ri Pyong Dok, a researcher in charge of Japan at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, argued that Tokyo's stance contradicts its desire for a summit with Pyongyang without any prerequisites.

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Dok said the abductee issue has been “completely, finally and irreversibly” settled. He accused Japan of unnecessarily highlighting the “unfeasible” issue.

“It is also little short of denying the stand of the Japanese chief executive who doesn’t miss an opportunity to say that he hopes for the ‘Japan-DPRK summit without preconditions,'” the Korean Central News Agency quoted Ri. 

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“This is the height of shamelessness and an insult to history,” the official said.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his willingness to hold talks with the North Korean dictator for “normalization of diplomatic relations.”

In May, he had said he was willing to meet Kim without any “preconditions.”

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Kshida wants to talk with Kim to resolve the long-standing issue of North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese nationals. Kishida said abductees' families are aging, adding, "The abduction issue is a human rights issue with a time limit."

Tokyo recognizes 17 citizens officially that have been abducted by Pyongyang, and there has been no progress on this issue for almost ten years now. In the 2014 Stockholm Agreement, North Korea committed to reopening investigations into the abductees. However, Kim unilaterally halted these probes in 2016.

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