Trump Welcomes Abe in Florida, Agrees to Put 'Maximum Pressure' on North Korea
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, together with his wife Akie Abe, was welcomed by U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The two world leaders agreed on issues to bring to North Korea's Kim Jong Un, as well as the way to pressure the country into following through with its pledge of denuclearization.
North Korea abandoning its plans to acquire nuclear capability has a huge global impact, but Abe also emphasized another discussion point he wanted to be brought up with Kim Jong Un, according to the Japan Times.
Abe and his wife flew to the US for this meeting on Tuesday, April 17, and the visit is scheduled for until Friday, April 20, as CNBC reported.
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The talks evidently turned to Abe's benefit, as Trump pledged to bring up the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang decades ago to an upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim has earlier expressed that he would be open to meeting with the US President, after a surprise and unofficial meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier. With the first-ever summit between the US and North Korea coming up, Abe has secured a promise to raise Japan's issue during Trump and Kim's first meeting ever.
Abe, appearing before the media during the first day of the visit, thanked Trump for "understanding that Japan has put emphasis on the abduction issue." The prime minister also expressed his thanks over Trump's "promise to take it up" when the latter meets with the North Korean leader for the first time.
Trump and Kim are expected to represent their respective countries in the first-ever summit between the US and North Korea sometime in early June this year.
The US President also expressed his support for Japan's agenda for the summit, as the two leaders were in agreement that "maximum pressure" is needed for North Korea to follow through with its pledges.
This pressure should be exerted on North Korea until the country undertakes "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization," according to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura who spoke about the meeting.
Japan and the US are locked in agreement and are "very unified" when it comes to North Korea and denuclearization, Trump said about his meeting with Japan's leader this week.
"We will bring up the abductees. We'll bring up many different things. I think it's a time for talking, it's a time for solving problems. I know that's been a very big factor for you," Trump said, assuring Abe that the US "will do its best for Japan" when it comes to North Korea and issues presented by the country, both present and past.
Tokyo has 17 Japanese nationals in its official list of citizens abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. Only five of them made it back to the country in 2002, and it was only after then did Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meet with the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il.
