A rare positive statement on Japan issued by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is being met with various opinions as to its possible intent.

In the statement on Thursday, Kim Yo Jong said that the day when Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio pays a visit to Pyongyang "might come."

It also said the visit would be possible if Japan does not use the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals as a stumbling block. It said the abductions issue is "already settled."

A South Korean expert on the North has suggested that the statement is aimed at countering Seoul's recent establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba, a country that has long been friendly with Pyongyang.

South Korea's Unification Ministry says the shift in Cuba's diplomatic stance must have shocked North Korea, especially since it came after leader Kim called for boosting relations with countries opposed to the US's "hegemonic strategy" in a speech in December.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency says the fact that the latest statement was issued under Kim's sister's name adds weight to its content.

Countries in the region and beyond are believed to be carefully analyzing Pyongyang's intentions.

The Japanese government officially recognizes 17 citizens as having being abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.

Five of them returned to Japan following a visit to Pyongyang by Japan's then-Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro in 2002.

The other 12 remain unaccounted for. Many other citizens are believed to have been taken to North Korea, although they are not officially recognized as abductees.

Kishida had told a Diet committee session last week that his government was making sustained efforts to communicate with North Korea through various channels and that he would do his utmost to achieve results on the abductions issue.

The government's top spokesperson, Hayashi Yoshimasa, told reporters on Friday that the government takes note of Kim's statement, but he declined further comment saying it could affect future negotiations.
But he added that the Kishida administration can never accept Pyongyang's claim that the abductions issue is already settled.