An aide to Japan's premier is trying to meet Kim Jong-Un's uncle, a key figure in North Korea's power elite, during a controversial visit to the country, a report said today.
Isao Iijima, a senior adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is attempting to arrange a meeting with Jang Sung-Taek, who is seen as a close confidant of the inexperienced Kim, Fuji TV said, without citing sources.
Iijima, a political fixer, is visiting Pyongyang in an unannounced trip that the Japanese government has refused to discuss, 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, while the United States expressed its surprise and urged Japan to share information.
Iijima was a senior aide to Japan's former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, and is known to have played a role in organising his trips to Pyongyang in 2002 and 2004 for talks with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
The North's state media showed footage of Iijima's talks yesterday with Kim Yong-Nam, North's Korea's ceremonial head of state, according to Japan's national broadcaster NHK today.
In it, Kim said he appreciated Iijima's work on bilateral relations.
"I am well aware that you have made efforts for a while. I value it highly," Kim told Iijima in Korean, according to NHK.
Kim's translator was also seen saying in Japanese that Iijima returned to Pyongyang with an extremely important mission, NHK said.
Japanese government ministers, from Prime Minister Abe on down, have refrained from discussing Iijima's visit to the North, including its purpose and the length of his stay.
Local media had previously said Iijima could leave the North as early as today, but Fuji TV said he might extend his stay in order to meet Jang.
