(Bloomberg) -- The powerful sister of Kim Jong Un said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently communicated his intention to meet with the North Korean leader “as soon as possible,” a move set to test warming ties between Tokyo and South Korea. 

Kim Yo Jong’s comments, made in a press statement issued Monday via the Korean Central News Agency, come at a delicate time for US efforts to shore up ties between two of its most important allies in Asia. South Korea is set for a parliamentary election next month, just as Kishida visits Washington for talks with President Joe Biden on strengthening their alliance. 

Kim’s sister offered a rare olive branch to Japan last month, saying the two countries could have a new future together if Tokyo makes a “political decision to open up a new way of mending the relations through its courteous behavior and trustworthy action.”

Kim Yo Jong reiterated in the latest statement that if Japan tries to interfere with North Korea’s exercise of sovereign rights and focuses on the abduction issue, it will inevitably face criticism that it is playing for popularity. 

“The history of the DPRK-Japan relations gives a lesson that it is impossible to improve the bilateral relations full of distrust and misunderstanding, only with an idea to set out on a summit meeting,” Kim said in the statement, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the nation’s official name.

Asked in parliament about the statement, Kishida said he was unaware of it, but reiterated that he has approached North Korea via various channels.

“It is important to hold a top-level meeting to resolve issues between Japan and North Korea, including the abduction problem, and there have been various approaches to North Korea under my direct control,” Kishida said. “This is what I have been saying all along.”

Following the North Korean press release, South Korea issued a statement rejecting the notion of a lack of unity among the US and its allies.

“Our government is in close communication with the Japanese side on North Korea’s nuclear and other issues, including the communication between Japan and North Korea,” South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “South Korea, the US and Japan are closely working together to bring North Korea back to the path for denuclearization.” 

In light of Russia’s war in Ukraine and Pyongyang’s ongoing provocations, Yoon has made it a priority to strengthen ties with the US and Japan. He has taken heat domestically in trying to turn the page on long-lasting bilateral issues stemming from Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

‘Stepping Stone’

Although Yoon’s support rate fell last week to 34% in the wake of a recent doctor’s strike, his ruling People Power Party maintained a slight advantage over the main opposition Democratic Party, according to Gallup Korea.

Biden has also done his part to encourage rapprochement between Japan and South Korea, inviting the two leaders for an unprecedented trilateral summit at Camp David last year. 

It would be difficult for Kishida, whose approval rating remains near a record low, to avoid the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea. The abductees and their aging relatives have been a high priority for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party for decades.

Tokyo officially lists 17 of its citizens as having been abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and ’80s, five of whom returned home in 2002. North Korea considers the issue settled and has blasted Japan for repeatedly raising it. North Korea claims that eight of the abductees have died and the other four never entered the country. 

“There’s a chance North Korea might seek to use a summit with Kishida as a stepping stone for talks with the US,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, in Seoul. “Which would be a troubling development for South Korea, as it would be sidelined in the Korean Peninsula issue while North Korea, the US and Japan lead the discussions.” 

--With assistance from Momoka Yokoyama and Isabel Reynolds.

(Adds response from Kishida, South Korean ministries and comment from analyst.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.