Japan Reacts Calmly to Cancellation of U.S.-N. Korea Summit

May 25, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government has reacted calmly to the cancellation of a U.S.-North Korea summit that was scheduled for Singapore on June 12.

Tokyo thinks that the development will do nothing other than lead to a return of the Japanese-led campaign of maximum pressure on North Korea, officials said.

North Korea appears to have failed to commit to its complete denuclearization, a Japanese government official said, discussing why U.S. President Donald Trump canceled his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"The United States will harden its stance and strengthen its campaign of sanctions," the official said.

Trump said in a letter addressed to Kim on Thursday that the summit meeting is inappropriate, "based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement."

The Japanese official, noting that Beijing influenced Kim to take a harder line against Washington, said, "U.S.-China relations will be strained further."

A Japanese Foreign Ministry source said the timing of the Trump-Kim summit was only premature and that the cancellation of the summit represents its effective postponement.

A senior lawmaker at Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, citing concerns that the country is marginalized on North Korean issues, said the cancellation is better than a situation where the Trump-Kim meeting would end up being not favorable to Tokyo.

When Trump in early March unveiled his plan to meet Kim, the Japanese government welcomed his decision as providing a chance to resolve the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens. But some had expressed concerns that the summit would be premature. Jiji Press