Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that building "fruitful" relations with North Korea will benefit both countries as well as helping regional stability, days after Pyongyang rejected any further contact or negotiations with Tokyo.

"We will continue to address issues related to North Korea," including the long-standing issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s, while trying to establish high-level dialogue, Kishida said at a press conference.

Since early 2023, Kishida has expressed eagerness to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to realize the return of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the past. The two Asian nations have no diplomatic ties.

On Tuesday, Kim's younger sister criticized Japan in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency for "clinging to the unattainable issues which can never be settled," referring to the abduction issue.

Touching on the sluggish approval ratings for his Cabinet, Kim Yo Jong said Kishida's bid to meet with her brother should be regarded as "politically motivated," insisting bilateral relations "should not be used for the political calculation" of the Japanese leader.

In a separate statement on Monday, the sister revealed that Kishida had conveyed his wish to meet Kim "as soon as possible," while reiterating North Korea's stance that the abduction issue has been already been resolved.

But Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the top government spokesman who doubles as minister in charge of the abduction issue, said at a regular press conference later Monday that North Korea's claim that the abduction issue had been settled was "totally unacceptable."

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