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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applauds while participating in a key Workers’ Party of Korea meeting held in late December 2023 in Pyongyang. (KCNA/Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a rare message of sympathy to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following the recent earthquake that struck Ishikawa Prefecture on the country’s western coast, according to a Saturday report by state media. The message has inspired speculation surrounding the potential of summit-level diplomacy between North Korea and Japan. 

Addressed to “his excellency” the Japanese prime minister, the message of condolence comprised two sentences. The state-run Rodong Sinmun paper reported that Kim had “expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to the prime minister and, through him, to the bereaved families and victims, upon the sad news that big casualties and material losses were caused by earthquakes in Japan from the outset of the new year.” 

The North Korean leader reportedly wrote that he “sincerely hoped that the people in the affected areas would eradicate the aftermath of earthquakes and restore their stable life at the earliest date possible.” 

This is the first public message that Kim has sent any Japanese prime minister since taking power in 2012. In a recent plenum of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee (Dec. 26-30), Kim lambasted Japan and South Korea as “the most faithful stooge and ‘running-dog’ in carrying out [the US’] hostile policy towards our Republic.”

Yet just a few days later, Kim called the Japanese prime minister “his excellency” in a message of sympathy. While it was most certainly wrapped in the niceties of humanitarianism, it’s a notable message between two countries that are hostile toward each other and lack official diplomatic relations

Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, confirmed that Japan had received Kim’s message on Saturday and expressed gratitude for the missive. 

Hayashi went on to say that in light of the current focus on disaster relief efforts, he would refrain from commenting on whether the government would respond to Kim’s message and on dialogue between North Korea and Japan.  

If Kishida, who has expressed a willingness to meet Kim for a summit, chooses to send an official response to Kim, and Kim responds in turn, it could open a door to dialogue between the two leaders. 

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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