‍Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he is ready to meet Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), without conditions to end long-running mistrust between their countries, the Sankei newspaper reported on Friday.

"We can't break the shell of mutual distrust between Japan and North Korea (DPRK) unless I directly face Mr. Kim," he told the newspaper.

Abe's remarks came days after he met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington and thanked Trump for raising with Kim, at a February summit, the topic of Japanese citizens allegedly abducted by the DPRK.

Resolving the abductee issue has for years been a Japanese condition for improving diplomatic and economic ties with the DPRK.

Japan, like the United States, is also seeking an end to DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

Abe signaled a shift in Japan's position in an interview with the newspaper on Wednesday, saying the only way to “break the current mutual distrust” was for him to hold unconditional talks with Kim.

“That's why I would like to meet him without setting preconditions and hold frank discussions. I hope he's a leader who can determine flexibly and strategically what is best for his country,” Abe was quoted as saying.

In 2002, the DPRK said that it had abducted 13 Japanese in the 1970s and 1980s.

Japan believes 17 of its citizens were abducted, five of whom were repatriated. Eight were said to have died according to Pyongyang, while four were said to have never entered the country.

Abe's shift on DPRK comes after more than a year of efforts by it to improves its foreign relations.

That includes Kim's two meetings with Trump since June last year and three others with Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in.

Kim also met Russian President Vladimir Putin last month.

That leaves Japan as the only regional power involved in the DPRK nuclear crisis yet to have a summit with Kim.

The last meeting between the leaders of Japan and the DPRK was in 2004, when the Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, met Kim's late father, Kim Jong Il.

They pledged to work together to resolve the abductee issue.

ROK urges efforts from both the U.S. and DPRK

ROK's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Friday called for more flexibility from both Washington and Pyongyang to break the stalled nuclear talks.

"At the end, (when) you sit at the table, flexibility is required on the part of all. For the two sides to meet and have productive discussions, obviously it is going to require flexibility to come to an agreement," she said.

The ROK official added that "a comprehensive picture" is needed to reach denuclearization on the peninsula.

(Cover: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe takes part in a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (not pictured) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 28, 2019. /Reuters Photo)