Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "fully" supports the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to walk away from talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, a move that resulted in the summit meeting ending abruptly Thursday without a deal.
Abe and Trump spoke for about 10 minutes by telephone Thursday evening while the U.S. president was returning to the United States. Trump briefed Abe on the developments of the second U.S.-North Korea summit.
Later that evening, Abe said to reporters at his official residence, "I fully support President Trump's decision not to make concessions easily and, at the same time, to continue constructive talks to urge North Korea to take concrete steps [toward denuclearization]."
Abe and Trump reaffirmed they would continue cooperating closely. During Trump's one-on-one talks with Kim on Wednesday, Trump raised the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, and conveyed Abe's views on the issue to Kim. Trump and Kim reportedly "seriously discussed" the abduction issue during a formal dinner that evening.
Abe also expressed determination to resolve the abduction issue through direct dialogue with Kim. "I am determined that I must be the next to deal with Chairman Kim," Abe said.
During their talks over the telephone on February 20, Abe had asked Trump to raise the abduction issue during his meeting with Kim.
The Japanese government has applauded Trump for not coughing up easy concessions in the drive to denuclearize North Korea. The government plans to continue working closely with the United States as it works toward resolving the abduction issue.
According to a senior government official who was present during Abe's phone call with Trump while the president was flying back to the United States, Trump did not provide a detailed explanation of what was discussed during the summit meeting with Kim, although this was partly due to the brevity of the call. Foreign Minister Taro Kono plans to soon hold telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to receive a more comprehensive explanation of the Trump-Kim meeting.
"It was unfortunate that both sides were unable to reach an agreement on denuclearization, but I completely support President Trump's decision," Kono said to reporters at the Foreign Ministry after the Trump-Kim meeting had ended. Kono added that the international community is calling for the "complete, verifiable and irreversible" elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
Before the U.S.-North Korea summit meeting, Abe and Kono had held phone talks with their U.S. counterparts and the government also had conducted various working-level discussions with U.S. officials. By closely comparing and calibrating policies in advance, "Japan and the United States were in complete agreement that no easy concessions would be offered," a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
However, apprehension that Trump might make concessions such as the incomplete denuclearization of North Korea as he seeks quick results in the diplomacy arena could not be fully dismissed.
Given this, the prevailing view within the Japanese government is that Trump "negotiated strongly" during this summit meeting, according to a senior government official. The government also welcomed the fact that Trump raised the abduction issue at Abe's request, just as Trump did during his first meeting with Kim in June 2018.
Even so, resolving the abduction issue will require direct Japan-North Korea negotiations. The government plans to seek out channels for talks with North Korea while keeping a close eye on developments in future U.S.-North Korea negotiations.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
