Japan to Cooperate with Canada, Italy for N. Korea’s Denuclearization

June 10, 2018

Charlevoix, Canada- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with each of his Canadian and Italian counterparts on Friday that Japan and the two countries will continue to closely cooperate for realizing the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.

At their separate meetings with Abe in Charlevoix, eastern Canada, Justin Trudeau of Canada and Italy's Giuseppe Conte also guaranteed their countries' support for Japan's effort to resolve promptly the issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese citizens, according to Japanese officials.

The bilateral meetings took place on the sidelines of the Charlevoix summit of the Group of Seven major industrialized countries, also including the United States, Britain, Germany and France.

Abe and Trudeau, the summit's host, agreed that multilateral trade based on World Trade Organization rules should be maintained, at a time when the United States is leaning toward protectionist measures under President Donald Trump.

Abe and Conte, who took office only on June 1, affirmed the importance of cooperation among the G-7 members, as stormy debates are expected over trade issues at the two-day summit through Saturday.

The Japanese and Italian leaders also agreed to visit each other's country at an early date. Jiji Press