Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide points to a journalist for a question during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan in this Aug. 27, 2017, file photo. / Korea Times file

By Park Ji-won

Japan's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday it will set up a new division to exclusively deal with North Korean affairs.

The ministry's Northeast Asia Division currently deals with both North and South Korea issues, but it will now be divided, and more staff will be hired to implement the plan.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said the plan reflects the changing regional security environment.

"As the workload has increased regarding the Korean Peninsula, (the ministry) will reorganize the divisions as Tokyo aims to cope with several issues such as improving bilateral ties with South Korea, handling the issue of the North's nuclear and missile development and taking stronger action against North Korea, regarding Japanese abductees issues," Suga said during a press briefing in Tokyo.

Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro earlier emphasized the increasing importance of cooperation with South Korea and countermeasures against North Korea.

According to media reports, Kanai Masaaki, who has been in charge of the Northeast Asia Division since October 2015, will be nominated as the new division chief.

The chief for South Korean affairs will be Nagao Shigetoshi, who served in general affairs.

Japan's move is likely part of follow-up measures amid fast-changing international relations on the Korean Peninsula.

In a joint declaration announced after the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom, April 27, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un affirmed the two Koreas' goal of making the peninsula nuclear-free through the North's complete denuclearization. The two leaders met 11 years after South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had a summit in 2007.

Following that meeting, Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump met each other for the first time, June 12, to discuss denuclearization of the North.

At the start of the month, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his willingness to meet Kim, before the historic summit between Kim and Trump to resolve the issue of the North's abduction of Japanese citizens.

Critics say Japan's move is to take a practical approach in improving relations with North Korea.

"In the process of making improvements in peace talks (on the Korean Peninsula), Japan will likely take practical approaches rather than only focusing on abductees issues," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

"Of course, Abe is using the situation for his political interests, but the reorganization can be considered as Tokyo's willingness to lead the situation when it comes to talks or cooperation with the North, rather than engaging in a North Korea-Japan standoff."