President Trump to meet Shinzo Abe ahead of Singapore summit
US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed it is "imperative" to completely dismantle North Korea's nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and ballistic missile programs. The White House said President Trump and PM Abe also plan to meet in advance ahead of a much-anticipated summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un back on schedule for June 12 in Singapore. Here's more.
Trump canceled meeting with Kim last week
Trump pulled out of the meeting with Kim last week but later said the summit could go ahead as planned following a more appeasing statement from Pyongyang and productive talks with the North Korean officials. The US President said Sunday that a US team was in North Korea to work on summit plans. Another US delegation was in Singapore to work on logistics.
Trump and Abe discussed recent developments in North Korea
Abe and Trump spoke by telephone a day after American and North Korean officials met at a border truce village to prepare for the summit. During the telephone call, they "discussed recent developments in North Korea and confirmed they would meet again to continue close coordination in advance of the expected meeting between the United States and North Korea," a White House official said.
Complete denuclearization will leave the country vulnerable: North Korea
Pyongyang has a different view of denuclearization and remains deeply worried that abandoning its deterrent would leave the country, and its leader, vulnerable, especially while the United States maintains a robust military presence in South Korea.
