Trump Takes Up Issue of Japanese Abductees in Summit with Kim

June 12, 2018

Singapore- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he brought up the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang, during his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the same day.

Trump was speaking at a press conference after the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit, held at a hotel on the island of Sentosa in Singapore.

In his telephone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, Trump promised to take up the abduction issue at his summit with Kim.

Abe said in Tokyo on Tuesday that he "highly rates" the fact that Trump took up the abduction issue during his talks with Kim.

"Japan has to directly face North Korea to resolve the abduction issue bilaterally," Abe told reporters at the prime minister's office.

Abe said that he supports the Trump-Kim meeting as "the first step toward the comprehensive solution to various problems related to North Korea." Jiji Press