An aide to Japan’s premier said on Friday that he had held “sincere” talks with North Korean officials during his controversial visit to the country. Isao Iijima, a senior adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was tightlipped about the subjects of his discussions when he arrived at the airport in Beijing.
“By visiting there, I was able to hold sincere talks for a long time,” Iijima, a political fixer, told reporters in the Chinese capital, according to Jiji Press.
“I have no plan to grant interviews. I want to closely examine (what was discussed) and consider it,” he said.The Japanese Government has refused to discuss Iijima’s visit, despite coverage of it by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
South Korea dubbed the trip “unhelpful” to international efforts to forge a united front against Pyongyang.