Japan Aiming for Summit with N. Korea after Trump-Kim Talks

June 13, 2018

Tokyo- Japan will add efforts to realize a summit with North Korea after Tuesday's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, officials have said.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed support for the outcome of the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

"Chairman Kim's intention to attain complete denuclearization has been confirmed in writing," Abe said. "This is a step toward the comprehensive resolution of various issues surrounding North Korea, and we support it."

Abe also praised Trump for bringing up the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals during the summit.

"I've determined that Japan must face North Korea directly to bilaterally resolve pending issues," particularly the abduction issue, Abe said, stressing his wish to hold a meeting with Kim.

"The ball is in Japan's court" as Trump mentioned the abduction issue to Kim, said Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. "Japan will step up its own efforts further."

The text of the joint statement signed by Trump and Kim did not mention the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea sought by the United States, Japan and other countries.

Abe termed the statement "highly significant." But a government official said the outcome was "the worst development we had expected."

The abduction issue still remains difficult, another official said.

After the summit, Abe had a telephone conversation with Trump, while Foreign Minister Taro Kono talked with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the phone.

Kono is slated to hold meetings in Seoul with Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa, including a session among the three, on Thursday.

Tokyo will send a senior Foreign Ministry official to a two-day international conference in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator from Thursday, hoping to have direct contact with a North Korean official.

Abe has repeatedly expressed readiness to normalize his country's relations with North Korea after resolving the abduction, nuclear and missile issues in a comprehensive fashion.

It remains to be seen whether Kim would accept a summit with Abe. Jiji Press