Abe vows Kim meeting to 'break mutual distrust'

TOKYO, Jan 28 (Agencies): Japan's prime minister vowed on Monday to "break the shell of mutual distrust" with North Korea by meeting leader Kim Jong Un face-to-face and restoring diplomatic relations between the two historic foes.

In a major policy speech to mark the opening of parliament, Shinzo Abe also vowed to push Sino-Japan ties "to a new stage" and pledged a record budget to improve crumbling infrastructure in the world's third-biggest economy.

"I will act resolutely, never failing to seize every opportunity to break the shell of mutual distrust, and I myself will directly face Chairman Kim Jong Un next to resolve North Korea's nuclear and missile issues, as well as the abductions issue," Abe said.

Abe gave no timeframe for a potential meeting with the North Korean leader but the comments came as Kim has ordered preparation for a second summit with US President Donald Trump, likely towards the end of next month.

"I will aim at diplomatic normalisation by settling the unfortunate past," Abe said, using a Japanese diplomatic euphemism referring to harm caused by Japan during its brutal colonisation of the Korean peninsula before and during World War II.

The conciliatory message contrasted sharply from a year ago, when Abe used the same parliamentary address to set out a hardline approach, pledging to "compel North Korea to change its policies" and describing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes as an "unprecedentedly grave and urgent threat."

Abe has long campaigned to resolve an emotional row related to North Korean agents' abduction of Japanese nationals during the Cold War era to train Pyongyang's spies.

Domestically, Abe vowed to press ahead with an upcoming consumption tax hike from the current eight percent to 10 percent from October. He also pledged a whopping seven trillion yen ($64 billion) on infrastructure spending, as the nation's many roads and bridges become dilapidated and Japan routinely faces serious natural disasters such as flooding and earthquakes.

Abe also pledged he will further expand his country's already improving ties with China but said Japan still needs to bolster its defence capability as far as space amid concern about Chinese military activity and uncertainty over North Korea's denuclearisation.

In a policy speech to Parliament, Abe omitted references to South Korea, which he had routinely mentioned as Japan's most important neighbor, as Tokyo tries to distance itself amid escalating spats over history and alleged incidents between the two defense forces.

Abe said Japan-China relations have returned to "normal" since he visited Beijing in October and he now wants to further promote their cooperation in trade and other areas.