North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shown "great interest" in meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — with a major caveat — one of the highest-ranking North Korean diplomats to defect in years told a news conference Thursday in Tokyo.
Former Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom Thae Yong Ho, who has spoken out against the Kim regime since defecting with his family to South Korea in 2016, said the North Korean leader was open to a summit with Abe, but that Japan must first show that it intends to honor a 2002 agreement, citing economic or humanitarian aid as possible signals of Tokyo's sincerity.
"Maybe not this year, but in his (long-term) goal to become an influential leader in this region, he is willing to meet Prime Minister Abe," Thae said. "There is no doubt about it."