Abe ready to meet with Kim without conditions

May 7, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday expressed his readiness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without conditions.

"I won't let any opportunity to slip away," in order to resolve the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals, Abe said in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.

"I must face Kim without any conditions," Abe also said.

Previously, Abe said a possible meeting between him and Kim would need to contribute to the resolution of the abduction issue.

The Japanese leader changed his stance after a meeting between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. With the meeting, Kim has met with all of his counterparts in the member countries of the six-way nuclear talks except Abe.

But it is uncertain whether Abe will be able to hold a meeting with Kim.

In the phone talks, which lasted about 40 minutes, Abe and Trump discussed how to respond to North Korea's firing of short-range projectiles Saturday.

Abe and Trump agreed that experts of their countries will cooperate in the analysis of the projectiles.

The two leaders also confirmed that they aim to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at an early date based on an agreement between Trump and Kim in June last year.

North Korea fired several projectiles from its eastern coast into the Sea of Japan. The country's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sunday released photographs of the firing drill.

Analyzing the photos, some experts have said the projectiles seem to have included a ballistic missile. A North Korean ballistic missile launch would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Abe and Trump also discussed trade issues, agreeing to speed up negotiations on a proposed bilateral trade deal.

The two leaders exchanged views on U.S.-China trade negotiations after Trump said Sunday that his country will raise tariffs on 200 billion dollars' worth of Chinese goods to 25 pct from 10 pct Friday. Jiji Press