With a poker face, Kim Jong Un waits for Japan's next PM

North Korea silent on plans to engage Abe's successor

20200910N Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not engage much with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, partly because Pyongyang believed Japan was "under the thumb of the U.S." © KCNA via Reuters

HIROSHI MINEGISHI, Nikkei senior staff writer

TOKYO -- Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation two weeks ago, North Korea has remained mum about Japan's first leadership change in nearly eight years.

The conspicuous silence seems to suggest that Pyongyang is waiting to see who will succeed Abe before deciding how to engage with the new leader.

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