Japan is working on arranging a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with one possibility including the premier's visit to Pyongyang around August, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday.

Citing multiple government sources, the paper said officials from the two countries had been in contact several times in recent months to negotiate a possible meeting between the two leaders.

US&nbspPresident Donald Trump this week agreed to halt joint US-South Korean military exercises after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, drills Japan's defence minister said were "vital" for East Asian security.

North Korea fired at least two missiles over Japan last year as it sought to develop a weapon capable of reaching the US&nbspmainland with a nuclear warhead.

Japan is expected to contribute towards the costs of North Korea's denuclearisation but only after the International Atomic Energy Agency restarts inspections, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Abe has made the resolution of the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea a political pledge and has said Japan would hold back economic assistance until those issues, along with denuclearisation, are resolved.

If Abe's visit to Pyongyang proves difficult, Japan is eyeing another scenario for Abe to meet Kim on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in September in Vladivostok, if the North Korean leader attends, the paper said.

A government source familiar with the matter said that Japanese officials planned to discuss the summit meeting with North Korean officials at an international conference on Northeast Asian security to be held on Thursday and Friday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The person added that it was still unclear whether Abe would attend the conference in Vladivostok in September when his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is due to hold a leadership race.

Citing multiple government sources, the paper said officials from the two countries had been in contact several times in recent months to negotiate a possible meeting between the two leaders

Japan is working on arranging a meeting between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with one possibility including the premier's visit to Pyongyang around August, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday. Citing multiple government sources, the paper said officials from the two countries had been in contact several times in recent months to negotiate a possible meeting between the two leaders. US&nbspPresident Donald Trump this week agreed to halt joint US-South Korean military exercises after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, drills Japan's defence minister said were "vital" for East Asian security. North Korea fired at least two missiles over Japan last year as it sought to develop a weapon capable of reaching the US&nbspmainland with a nuclear warhead. Japan is expected to contribute towards the costs of North Korea's denuclearisation but only after the International Atomic Energy Agency restarts inspections, a spokesman said on Wednesday. Abe has made the resolution of the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea a political pledge and has said Japan would hold back economic assistance until those issues, along with denuclearisation, are resolved. If Abe's visit to Pyongyang proves difficult, Japan is eyeing another scenario for Abe to meet Kim on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in September in Vladivostok, if the North Korean leader attends, the paper said. A government source familiar with the matter said that Japanese officials planned to discuss the summit meeting with North Korean officials at an international conference on Northeast Asian security to be held on Thursday and Friday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The person added that it was still unclear whether Abe would attend the conference in Vladivostok in September when his ruling Liberal Democratic Party is due to hold a leadership race.

Japan eying Abe-Kim summit with possible Pyongyang visit: Report

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported, as diplomatic efforts to engage Pyongyang ramp up.

The reports come after the surprise announcement that US President Donald Trump plans his own talks with the North Korean leader, part of fast-paced diplomatic developments following an Olympic detente.

However, there have been no public proposals of talks by either Pyongyang or Tokyo.&nbsp;

Japan&#39;s Kyodo news agency reported a potential Abe-Kim summit late Tuesday, citing unnamed government sources who said the talks could be part of a new approach by Tokyo to dealing with the North.

Hours later, Jiji Press reported a similar story, saying Tokyo fears being left behind in dealing with the North if talks proceed between the isolated nation and South Korea and Washington without Japan&#39;s involvement.

&nbsp;A&nbsp;foreign ministry spokeswoman said she could not confirm any concrete plans for a summit.

But she added &quot;we will be studying our policies from the viewpoint of what is most effective&quot; to resolve the issues of North Korea&#39;s nuclear and missile programmes as well as the abduction of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang.

Earlier this week, South Korean envoy Suh Hoon visited Tokyo to brief Japan&#39;s leadership on the fast-moving diplomatic process that saw an announcement last week of a historic US-North Korea summit to discuss Pyongyang&#39;s denuclearisation.

Suh, the chief of South Korea&#39;s National Intelligence Service, on Tuesday met with Abe but it was unclear if he brought a message from the North Korean leader to propose a summit with Japan.

Media reports and experts say Tokyo fears it may be left out of developments around North Korea, and worries that the issue of abducted Japanese citizens is being sidelined.

But the possibility of an Abe-Kim summit also comes as the Japanese premier faces a growing scandal at home over the sale of government land to one of his supporters, and an apparent cover-up of the deal by the finance ministry.

Abe rose to political prominence on his calls for a tough line on North Korea, particularly over its abductions of Japanese citizens.

Japan, a close US ally in the region, is in the &nbsp;firing line of North Korean missiles and saw two fly over its territory in 2017, sparking outrage and lifting tensions to fever pitch.

The last Japanese prime minister to meet a North Korean leader was Junichiro Koizumi, who met Kim&#39;s father Kim Jung Il in Pyongyang in 2004.

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Japan is considering a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported, as diplomatic efforts to engage Pyongyang ramp up. The reports come after the surprise announcement that US President Donald Trump plans his own talks with the North Korean leader, part of fast-paced diplomatic developments following an Olympic detente. However, there have been no public proposals of talks by either Pyongyang or Tokyo. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported a potential Abe-Kim summit late Tuesday, citing unnamed government sources who said the talks could be part of a new approach by Tokyo to dealing with the North. Hours later, Jiji Press reported a similar story, saying Tokyo fears being left behind in dealing with the North if talks proceed between the isolated nation and South Korea and Washington without Japan's involvement. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said she could not confirm any concrete plans for a summit. But she added "we will be studying our policies from the viewpoint of what is most effective" to resolve the issues of North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes as well as the abduction of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang. Earlier this week, South Korean envoy Suh Hoon visited Tokyo to brief Japan's leadership on the fast-moving diplomatic process that saw an announcement last week of a historic US-North Korea summit to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearisation. Suh, the chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, on Tuesday met with Abe but it was unclear if he brought a message from the North Korean leader to propose a summit with Japan. Media reports and experts say Tokyo fears it may be left out of developments around North Korea, and worries that the issue of abducted Japanese citizens is being sidelined. But the possibility of an Abe-Kim summit also comes as the Japanese premier faces a growing scandal at home over the sale of government land to one of his supporters, and an apparent cover-up of the deal by the finance ministry. Abe rose to political prominence on his calls for a tough line on North Korea, particularly over its abductions of Japanese citizens. Japan, a close US ally in the region, is in the firing line of North Korean missiles and saw two fly over its territory in 2017, sparking outrage and lifting tensions to fever pitch. The last Japanese prime minister to meet a North Korean leader was Junichiro Koizumi, who met Kim's father Kim Jung Il in Pyongyang in 2004.

Japan's Abe weighing talks with North Korea's Kim: Reports

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Japan eying Abe-Kim summit with possible Pyongyang visit: Report

Japan's Abe weighing talks with North Korea's Kim: Reports