Abe Vows to Reaffirm Japan-U.S. Cooperation on N. Korea

June 4, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this week to reaffirm close bilateral cooperation to resolve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea.

Abe is scheduled to hold talks with Trump in Washington on Thursday before attending a two-day summit of leaders of the Group of Seven major countries to be held in Charlevoix, Quebec, eastern Canada, from Friday.

"Toward the U.S.-North Korea summit (on June 12), I want to reaffirm close cooperation with the United States for resolving the abduction issue, on which my administration puts top priority," Abe told a meeting of government and ruling coalition officials.

"Japan will work closely with the United States to make the U.S.-North Korean summit an opportunity for making progress on various outstanding issues, such as the abduction and nuclear and missile development," he said.

Referring to the G-7 summit, Abe said Japan will take the initiative to maintain and strengthen the system of free and fair trade and create rules for building a win-win relationship for the entire global economy.

The United States has been under fire over its steel and aluminum tariffs at a meeting of the G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Whistler, Canada, last week.

"Concerns were expressed that the tariffs imposed by the United States on its friends and allies...undermine open trade and confidence in the global economy," the chair's summary to wrap up the G-7 finance meeting said.

The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Jiji Press