DPRK clarifies stance on Japanese PM's bilateral summit proposal

SEOUL -- Japan should make a political decision for the improvement of its ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a senior DPRK official said Monday regarding the Japanese prime minister's recent proposal on a summit with the DPRK's top leader.

Noting that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently conveyed his intention to meet Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, in person as soon as possible, Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the WPK, said the idea of a summit alone would make it "impossible to improve the bilateral relations full of distrust and misunderstanding."

According to a press statement issued by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the senior DPRK official said Kishida's proposal would be criticized as a political stunt, or "a bid for popularity" if Japan is still mulling interfering in the exercise of the DPRK's sovereignty.

"When Japan infringes upon the sovereignty of the DPRK, doggedly standing hostile to it, the former will become a target of the latter, being regarded as its enemy," the official was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

Clarifying the DPRK's stance toward Japan, she urged the neighboring country to make a political decision for strategic option conformed to its overall interests, if it truly wants to improve the bilateral relations.

"The DPRK's strengthened self-defense capability will never be a threat to the security of Japan, if the latter respects the former's sovereignty and security interests in a fair and equal stand," she added.