Abe seeks Trump's assurances over DPRK in two-way chat

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to draw on his close ties with US President Donald Trump in talks on Thursday and will urge the US leader not to forget Tokyo's security concerns in his drive for a historic deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Abe has spoken to Trump 30 times since he became president, including eight face-to-face meetings, and officials say Washington is well-aware of Tokyo's stance towards Pyongyang.

"Through summits and telephone conversations with President Trump, we have closely liaised and our positions are exactly the same," Abe told reporters before departing for Washington.

August 29, 2017: A pedestrian looks at a television screen displaying Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaking to the media in Tokyo, following a North Korean missile test that passed over Japan. /VCG Photo

"Ahead of this historic US-DPRK summit, I will meet President Trump to coordinate in order to advance progress on the nuclear issue, missiles and - most importantly – the abductees issue," he said, referring to the matter of Japanese citizens kidnapped by Pyongyang's agents decades ago.

"I want to make the US-DPRK summit a success," he added.

Concerns have simmered in Tokyo that Trump, his eye on the November congressional elections, could cut a deal that would allow him to boast of protecting U.S. cities from nuclear attacks but leave Japan vulnerable to short range missiles.

Abe has been insisting that apart from the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) that could reach the US territory, the DPRK should also destroy its middle and short range missiles that could easily cover Japan.

(Cover photo: US President Donald J. Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe participate in a joint press conference at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, April 18, 2018. /VCG Photo )

Source(s): Reuters