Japan, US in agreement to demand N. Korea abandon all missiles: Abe

April 26, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday he and US President Donald Trump last week agreed to demand that North Korea abandon not only intercontinental ballistic missiles, but also short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching Japan.

The prime minister told a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting that he strongly hopes that a planned "historic meeting" between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will help break the deadlock over Pyongyang-related issues, including the problem of Japanese citizens abducted by the reclusive state decades ago.

Abe and Trump met at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 17-18. North Korea announced its decision to stop nuclear testing and test-firing of ICBMs after the Japan-U.S. summit.

The prime minister said he and Trump reaffirmed their policy of demanding that North Korea abandon all types of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological and chemical arms. "We were in complete agreement to pursue their complete, verifiable and irreversible abandonment," he said.

Abe said Trump leaned forward as he listened to what the prime minister had to say about the Japanese abductees. The president strongly stated that he will bring up the abduction issue when he meets with Kim and that he will do his best to help resolve the issue, Abe said.

In addition, Abe said South Korean President Moon Jae-in told him, during their phone talks on Tuesday, that he will convey the prime minister's position on the abduction issue when he meets with Kim on Friday.

Moon said he plans to tell Kim that resolving the abduction issue will contribute to building peace in Northeast Asia, according to Abe.

"North Korea following the right path will pave the way for settling the unfortunate past based on the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration and even normalizing diplomatic relations," Abe said, urging North Korea to take positive action toward a comprehensive resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile problems.

The declaration was signed at a summit held between then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader, in the North Korean capital in September 2002. It called for comprehensively resolving the set of issues involving North Korea with the aim of normalizing the two countries' relations. Jiji Press