Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru (L), the eldest son of the late Shin Kanemaru, a former kingpin of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, shakes hands with North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam in Pyongyang on Sept. 8, 2014.

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru (center L), the eldest son of the late Shin Kanemaru, a former kingpin of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam (center R), hold talks in Pyongyang on Sept. 8, 2014.

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru (L), the eldest son of the late Shin Kanemaru, a former kingpin of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, head for their meeting in Pyongyang on Sept. 8, 2014.

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru (L), the eldest son of the late Shin Kanemaru, a former kingpin of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, hold talks in Pyongyang on Sept. 8, 2014.

Japanese linked to late politician Kanemaru in Pyongyang

Japanese linked to late politician Kanemaru in Pyongyang

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru, the eldest son of Shin Kanemaru, the late former vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks to Kyodo News at a hotel in Pyongyang on Sept. 6, 2014. He is in the North Korean capital as head of a delegation of nearly 60 people, who have traveled there for the 100th anniversary of the Sept. 17 birthday of the late Kanemaru, who worked in the 1990s to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Former chief of defunct Japan Socialist Party dies at 93

Former chief of defunct Japan Socialist Party dies at 93

File photo taken in September 1990 in North Korea shows Makoto Tanabe (R), who headed the now defunct Japan Socialist Party from 1991 to 1993, and Shin Kanemaru (L), former deputy prime minister, meeting with North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. Tanabe died on July 2, 2015, in his hometown Maebashi, central Japan, at the age of 93. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru (L), the eldest son of the late Shin Kanemaru, a former kingpin of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, shakes hands with North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam in Pyongyang on Sept. 8, 2014. (Kyodo)

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

Son of late Japanese political bigwig meets N. Korea's top figure

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Yasunobu Kanemaru (center L), the eldest son of the late Shin Kanemaru, a former kingpin of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam (center R), hold talks in Pyongyang on Sept. 8, 2014. (Kyodo)

Japanese delegation in N. Korea

Japanese delegation in N. Korea

Song Il Ho (L), North Korea's ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, makes a toast to members of a Japanese delegation in Pyongyang on Sept. 18, 2019. The delegation was led by Shingo Kanemaru, the second son of Shin Kanemaru, a late veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who worked toward the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang in the 1990s. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese delegation in N. Korea

Japanese delegation in N. Korea

Song Il Ho (L), North Korea's ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, and Shingo Kanemaru, who heads a Japanese delegation to North Korea, join in a toast in Pyongyang on Sept. 18, 2019. Kanemaru is the second son of Shin Kanemaru, a late veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who worked toward the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang in the 1990s. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese delegation in N. Korea

Japanese delegation in N. Korea

Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, makes a speech during a meeting with a Japanese delegation in Pyongyang on Sept. 18, 2019. The delegation was led by Shingo Kanemaru, the second son of Shin Kanemaru, a late veteran Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who worked toward the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang in the 1990s. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo