ID :
210307
Thu, 09/29/2011 - 17:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/210307
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Lower house deputy speaker plans to visit N. Korea in November
TOKYO, Sept. 29 Kyodo - House of Representatives Vice Speaker Seishiro Eto is planning to visit North Korea in mid-November as part of a mission consisting of parliamentarians seeking normalization of bilateral ties, political sources said Thursday.
During the visit, Eto will ask to meet with high-ranking North Korean officials, including Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's parliament, the sources said.
Eto is the leader of the parliamentary group, established in May 2008 to help resolve outstanding issues between the two countries through dialogue, including the abduction issue involving Japanese nationals.
The plan has already been communicated to Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, the sources said.
The visit is ostensibly being planned as a tour to watch the 2014 World Cup soccer qualifier between Japan and North Korea in Pyongyang on Nov. 15.
Through the possible meeting with Kim, North Korea's No. 2 man after leader Kim Jong Il, Eto hopes to break the impasse in bilateral relations, following a halt in government-to-government consultations since August 2008, the sources said.
But it might spark criticism if the lower house's vice speaker visits the country at a time when little progress has been made in the abduction issue, according to observers.
Eto is a member of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party but has acted as an independent in his capacity as the lower house's vice speaker.
He plans to call on members of two groups of lawmakers that he heads -- one working for diplomatic normalization and the other for promoting soccer diplomacy -- to join him in the mission.
The visit would be for two days, and under the plan participants would go to Pyongyang via Beijing on a chartered flight, the sources said.
Among the roughly 50 lawmakers in the group for normalization are former Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, an LDP member who also served as minister in charge of abduction issues, and Koriki Jojima, acting secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
During the visit, Eto will ask to meet with high-ranking North Korean officials, including Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's parliament, the sources said.
Eto is the leader of the parliamentary group, established in May 2008 to help resolve outstanding issues between the two countries through dialogue, including the abduction issue involving Japanese nationals.
The plan has already been communicated to Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, the sources said.
The visit is ostensibly being planned as a tour to watch the 2014 World Cup soccer qualifier between Japan and North Korea in Pyongyang on Nov. 15.
Through the possible meeting with Kim, North Korea's No. 2 man after leader Kim Jong Il, Eto hopes to break the impasse in bilateral relations, following a halt in government-to-government consultations since August 2008, the sources said.
But it might spark criticism if the lower house's vice speaker visits the country at a time when little progress has been made in the abduction issue, according to observers.
Eto is a member of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party but has acted as an independent in his capacity as the lower house's vice speaker.
He plans to call on members of two groups of lawmakers that he heads -- one working for diplomatic normalization and the other for promoting soccer diplomacy -- to join him in the mission.
The visit would be for two days, and under the plan participants would go to Pyongyang via Beijing on a chartered flight, the sources said.
Among the roughly 50 lawmakers in the group for normalization are former Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, an LDP member who also served as minister in charge of abduction issues, and Koriki Jojima, acting secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
