While North Korea has held summits with the leaders of neighboring South Korea and China as well as the United States this year, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has shown no signs of wanting to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe anytime soon.
Instead of signaling a desire to have dialogue with Japan, Pyongyang has steadfastly lambasted its longtime adversary to fan nationalist sentiment at home and strengthening ties with Seoul.
Since Japan-North Korea relations are expected to deteriorate even more, Tokyo "should not hope that an Abe-Kim summit will take place in the near future," a source familiar with Pyongyang's thinking said.