PALM BEACH, Fla. -- U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to take up the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea during a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un planned by early June.
Trump made the promise during a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida, where Abe and Trump reaffirmed cooperation on policies related to North Korea.
Trump also said Washington has begun direct talks with Pyongyang at "extremely high levels" in preparation for the meeting with Kim, and expressed his intention to bring an end to the Korean War, which remains in a state of armistice.
Abe and Trump were holding their sixth meeting overall, and their second at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, which Abe also visited in February last year. Their one-on-one talks lasted about 55 minutes, with only their interpreters present.
An about 70-minute meeting was held later with a small number of high-ranking officials, including Japanese officials Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura, Secretary General of the National Security Secretariat Shotaro Yachi, and Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shinsuke Sugiyama; and U.S. officials Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Chief of Staff John Kelly, and National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Abe said during the meeting, "I hope that the unprecedented U.S.-North Korea summit will pave the way to solving the issues of nuclear weapons and missiles, as well as the abduction issue that is particularly important to Japan."
Trump said in response: "We will bring up the abductees. We'll bring up many different things."
"I know that's been a very big factor for you," he added.
Trump also said he will take a tough stance on North Korea, and will do his best to work on Japan's behalf.
Trump further indicated he intended to press Kim to abandon short- and medium-range missiles that constitute a serious threat to Japan, according to sources accompanying Abe.
Abe and Trump agreed to maintain maximum pressure on North Korea to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. They also discussed economic and trade issues.
Before the 70-minute talks, Abe told reporters he was able to have a deep discussion with Trump on North Korea and the economy in a one-on-one setting. "We shared our views on the most important issues to each of us," he said.
They also exchanged views on recent military action by the United States, Britain and France against Syria, which followed the alleged use of chemical weapons on Syrian citizens by President Bashar Assad.
"The use of chemical weapons is extremely inhumane and absolutely intolerable. I support the U.S., British and French resolution that the proliferation and use of chemical weapons is absolutely unacceptable," Abe told Trump.
The Japan-U.S. summit was arranged after Abe proposed meeting Trump ahead of the upcoming Trump-Kim meeting. After the talks, they attended a dinner reception with their wives.
Abe and Trump are scheduled to play golf on Wednesday morning near Trump's retreat, after which they will again discuss trade and other issues with economic-related ministers. A joint press conference will be held after the discussions.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
