TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2018) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in an interview published on Sunday his intention to hold "in-depth talks" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and also expressed his desire to meet personally with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Shinzo Abe told the Sankei Shimbun newspaper he would hold "an in-depth discussion with Putin" during his visit to Russia scheduled for September 11, stressing his desire to "conclude a peace treaty by solving the problem of Northern Territories" � contested islands claimed by both countries, collectively referred to as the Southern Kurils by Moscow. This is going to be the 22nd meeting between Abe and Putin.
Abe also noted the need to make progress in relations with North Korea.
"In the end, I will need to meet with Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong Un. These negotiations should contribute to the solution of the problem of Japanese citizens [kidnapped by North Korean intelligence services and forcibly kept in North Korea since the 1970s and 80s]," Abe said.
Besides, the Japanese prime minister expressed his satisfaction with the development of the country's relations with China.
"After Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Japan, relations between Japan and China returned to normal in May, and I look forward to my visit to China [in October]. I also want to invite [Chinese President] Xi Jinping to Japan," Abe said.
The interview was dedicated to the September 20 elections of the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
Russia and Japan both claim Iturup, Habomai, Kunashir and Shikotan islands. However, all of them are under Russian jurisdiction. Russia believes that the islands became part of the Soviet Union as a result of the World War II. In 1956, the Soviet Union agreed to consider returning the islands to Japan if an official post-WWII peace treaty was concluded, but none has been to date.
