November 17, 2025
Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo on November 16 spoke at a committee of the general assembly of the cross-party Japan-ROK and ROK-Japan parliamentarians’ unions held in Seoul.
At the security and foreign affairs committee meeting, Shii pointed out that the only way to have North Korea cancel its nuclear and missile development programs is to strengthen economic sanctions and seek a peaceful solution through dialogue. He stressed that it is important to uphold the principle of “advancing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peacebuilding in Northeast Asia in an integrated and comprehensive manner,” and that “achieving this goal by implementing agreeable measures step by step is also important.”
In relation to this, Shii referred to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s address to the UN General Assembly in September.
Lee in his address talked about a new initiative called “END” aimed at promoting “exchange, normalization and denuclearization” through comprehensive dialogue with North Korea. Regarding the prospect of denuclearization, he proposed to achieve this through a phased approach: “freeze”, “reduction”, and “abandonment”.
Stating that Lee’s proposal is rational, Shii expressed his hope that the Japanese government will work together with the South Korean government and display its initiative in moving forward with the proposed course of action.
Shii touched on how to improve Japan-North Korea relations. He said that the important thing is to make efforts based on the 2002 Japan-DPRK Declaration toward achieving a comprehensive resolution of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development issues in addition to other pending issues such as North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals and Japan’s past war of aggression as well as toward normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said, “I sincerely hope that joint efforts between the Japanese and South Korean governments will forge ahead with peacebuilding efforts on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia.”
At the security and foreign affairs committee meeting, Shii pointed out that the only way to have North Korea cancel its nuclear and missile development programs is to strengthen economic sanctions and seek a peaceful solution through dialogue. He stressed that it is important to uphold the principle of “advancing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peacebuilding in Northeast Asia in an integrated and comprehensive manner,” and that “achieving this goal by implementing agreeable measures step by step is also important.”
In relation to this, Shii referred to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s address to the UN General Assembly in September.
Lee in his address talked about a new initiative called “END” aimed at promoting “exchange, normalization and denuclearization” through comprehensive dialogue with North Korea. Regarding the prospect of denuclearization, he proposed to achieve this through a phased approach: “freeze”, “reduction”, and “abandonment”.
Stating that Lee’s proposal is rational, Shii expressed his hope that the Japanese government will work together with the South Korean government and display its initiative in moving forward with the proposed course of action.
Shii touched on how to improve Japan-North Korea relations. He said that the important thing is to make efforts based on the 2002 Japan-DPRK Declaration toward achieving a comprehensive resolution of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development issues in addition to other pending issues such as North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals and Japan’s past war of aggression as well as toward normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said, “I sincerely hope that joint efforts between the Japanese and South Korean governments will forge ahead with peacebuilding efforts on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia.”
