JCP Chair condemns North Korea's rocket launch and calls on Tokyo to work to establish a diplomatic channel with Pyongyang and resolve issues through dialogue

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on May 31 issued a statement titled, "The Japanese Communist Party condemns North Korea's rocket launch and calls on the Japanese government to establish a diplomatic channel with Pyongyang and work hard for resolutions through dialogue". The full text of the statement is as follows:

The Japanese government has announced that North Korea on the morning of May 31 launched an "apparent ballistic missile". According to the North Korean government, a "military reconnaissance satellite" was launched and later crashed into the Yellow Sea. Regardless of whether it was a ballistic missile or a satellite, any rocket launch using ballistic missile technologies is prohibited under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The Japanese Communist Party condemns North Korea's rocket launch in violation of UNSC resolutions and demands that Pyongyang refrain from any further rocket launches.

The JCP in its statement on April 13 stressed that the Japanese government should undertake effective measures to prevent North Korea's further military provocations and pursue diplomatic solutions, emphasizing that the urgent need for Tokyo is to establish a diplomatic channel with Pyongyang.

In this context, the JCP takes note of the fact that Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on May 27 expressed his intent to start high-level consultations under his direct control to "bring about summit-level talks at an early time" and in response, North Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Sang Gil said, "There is no reason for the DPRK and Japan not to meet."

The JCP reiterates its call on the Japanese government to work hard to establish a diplomatic channel and resolve pending issues through dialogue based on the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration.