The Japanese government has reportedly restricted only the North Korean delegation participating in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games from using Shinkansen high-speed trains.

Despite this "discriminatory treatment," the Japanese side reached out to North Korea's Sports Minister Kim Il-guk, who is currently visiting Japan, to express its intent for dialogue with North Korea, but the North Korean side reacted coldly.

Kyodo News cited a North Korean delegation official today as explaining that the North Korean delegation has been restricted from using the Shinkansen during their stay in Japan, noting that detailed restrictions are being imposed that do not apply to delegations from other countries.

While the Japanese side cited reasons such as "ensuring safety," the North Korean side has pushed back, calling it "considerably discriminatory compared to other delegations."

Meanwhile, the Japanese government reportedly attempted to make contact with North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il-guk, who is visiting Japan to attend the event, but Minister Kim gave no answer and showed a cold response.

Citing multiple sources familiar with North Korea-Japan relations, the news agency reported that a Japanese government official in charge of North Korean issues approached Minister Kim while he was moving at the event venue in Nagoya City where the opening ceremony was held, welcomed his visit to Japan, and conveyed the intent to promote exchanges between North Korea and Japan.

However, the affiliation of the government official was not clearly communicated to the North Korean side, and a North Korean entourage member intervened.

Minister Kim looked flustered and left the scene without answering.

The news agency analyzed that while the Japanese government sought to find a breakthrough for dialogue by directly conveying its intent to talk on the occasion of hosting the Asian Games, the situation highlighted how difficult that is, adding that operational grievances such as the restriction on Shinkansen use appear to be one of the reasons Minister Kim avoided dialogue with Japan.

According to the report, North Korea is stepping up criticism of the Sanae Takaichi administration in Japan in coordination with China and Russia.

With North Korea keeping its distance from dialogue with Japan, claiming that the abductions of Japanese nationals issue is "already resolved," and criticizing the Japanese government's handling of the abduction issue, there are no concrete moves toward improving bilateral relations.

Sports Minister Kim Il-guk is the top figure in North Korea's sports administration and also serves as the chairman of the National Olympic Committee of North Korea.

He is attending the current games in the capacity of an official from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the organizing body.

The news agency observed that North Korea does not view Minister Kim's current visit to Japan as an opportunity to seek improved North Korea-Japan relations, suggesting that North Korea may be limiting the activities of its delegation strictly to sports exchanges.

(Photo: Yonhap News)