Within the span of just two days, North Korea went from raising the prospect of a leaders summit with Japan to dismissing it outright, with leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister saying Pyongyang will refuse “any contact and negotiations” with Tokyo in the future.
Kim Yo Jong’s remarks on Tuesday, just a day after she revealed that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had requested a summit with her brother, were widely seen as part of a familiar playbook employed by the North as it seeks the upper hand in negotiations Tokyo hopes could eventually resolve the long-festering abductee issue and ease strained tensions, including over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
Here’s a look at recent events in the relationship, how they got there and where things may be headed.