Japan is sounding out North Korea on holding a summit through "various routes," the government said Monday, hours after Pyongyang's media reported Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has conveyed his intention to meet with leader Kim Jong Un.
Earlier in the day, Kim Yo Jong, the leader's younger sister, said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that Kishida recently proposed an in-person summit with her brother "as soon as possible" through "another channel."
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the top government spokesman, declined to elaborate further on the report at a regular press conference, citing a possible negative impact on negotiations with North Korea going forward.
