Specifically, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa told reporters today, February 16: "[Prime Minister Kishida] Fumio said he wants to have talks towards realizing a summit with [North Korean] leader Kim Jong-un," AFP reported.

Japan is “paying attention” to Kim’s comments, Hayashi said, but said: “North Korea’s argument that the abduction issue has been resolved is completely unacceptable.”

Earlier, Kim Yo-jong, Mr. Kim's sister, said that a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to Pyongyang was "possible" unless Tokyo turned the abduction issue into an obstacle to bilateral relations.

Kim's comments were reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 15. She referred to Kishida's remarks during a parliamentary committee session last week, regarding North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago.

According to Ms. Kim, there is “no reason” for the two countries not to become closer and the day of the prime minister’s visit to Pyongyang could happen. She said the visit is “feasible” if Tokyo “does not put obstacles such as the abduction issue, which has been resolved, in the process of mending bilateral relations in the future.”

However, Ms. Kim said that her statement only expressed her "personal opinion" and that she was not in a position to officially comment on bilateral relations.

However, according to NHK, Ms. Kim's public comments tend to reflect her brother's intentions. It is extremely rare for her to express her personal views on the relationship between Japan and North Korea.

NHK reported that Mr. Kishida had previously said that it was time to boldly change the current situation between the two countries. He also said that his government was making continuous efforts to communicate with North Korea through various channels.

In 2002, then Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met in Pyongyang in the first summit between the two countries.

At that summit, North Korea admitted to the abductions. Five Japanese were later released. However, Tokyo maintains that 12 others, who were abducted in the 1970s and 1980s, remain at large.