President Yoon Suk Yeol poses with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, Nov. 16, 2023. AP-Yonhap

Japan's attempts to reach out to North Korea to hold a summit are unlikely to affect the trilateral partnership's overall objectives against Pyongyang, experts said.

Ahead of his summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told CNN, Sunday, that his government was making “high-level approaches” to secure a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to resolve outstanding issues and promote stable relations between the two countries.

This comes two weeks after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ruled out holding a summit with Japan, saying Pyongyang will refuse “any contact and negotiations” with Tokyo. She accused Japan of remaining “stuck in the past” by continuing to raise the issue of Japanese abductees and North Korea's banned nuclear weapons programs.

Yang Moo-jin, the president of the University of North Korean Studies, said Japan’s active efforts to reach out to North Korea will not affect the trilateral ties between the United States, South Korea and Japan.

“I believe Japan’s signal to North Korea won’t affect trilateral security cooperation against Pyongyang. South Korea and the U.S. have no reason to oppose Japan’s decision if it seeks to resolve North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues,” Yang said.

“Even if a Kishida-Kim summit takes place, which seems highly unlikely, Japan will coordinate with its allies and offer a full explanation about the diplomatic talks. Kishida is pushing for a diplomatic breakthrough with the North Korean leader to save his faltering leadership.”

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy at the Sejong Institute, said Japan-North Korea relations won’t affect the trilateral partnership's cooperation unless Japan signs an agreement unilaterally with North Korea.

“South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are sharing information on North Korean missiles in real time and conducting combined naval exercises (in a show of strength against North Korea). It’s hard to imagine that Japan will defy the U.S. to cooperate with North Korea. It seems very unlikely that they will reach an agreement with North Korea that undermines trilateral relations,” he said.

Cheong also questioned Kishida’s governing style.

“Kishida has a weak presence in Japan. His cabinet’s approval rating has been stuck near record lows. He hasn’t made extraordinary progress since he took office. I doubt that he would be able to demonstrate determination in Tokyo-Pyongyang relations,” he said.

Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday that Biden would conditionally support the Kishida-Kim summit, adding that any such meeting would be dependent on close coordination among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

（作者：新闻中心）