13 September 2017

News Story: N. Korea to push arms program, top official tells Japanese lawmaker Inoki

Antonio Inoki (Image: Wiki Commons)
BEIJING/PYONGYANG (Kyodo) -- North Korea's top official in charge of foreign affairs said Pyongyang will continue striving toward the "last goal" of its nuclear and missile development programs, a Japanese parliamentarian revealed Monday following their meeting.

Japanese wrestler-turned-lawmaker Antonio Inoki disclosed some of his discussions with Ri Su Yong, a vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, upon his arrival at Beijing's international airport, shortly after ending his five-day visit to Pyongyang.

Inoki said he agreed with Ri, known as a trusted confidant of leader Kim Jong Un, that Japan and North Korea should not sever lines of communication, even at a time of high tensions following Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.

It is not completely clear what Ri, a former foreign minister who is responsible for shaping the country's external relations, meant by the "last goal."

But it could possibly be that he was referring to North Korea's ultimate goal of deploying a hydrogen bomb-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the mainland United States.

Read the full story at The Mainichi