Trump, Abe talk DPRK and bilateral trade
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US President Donald Trump welcomed visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday.
The two leaders were discussing topics of bilateral concern, including Trump’s upcoming meeting with Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and bilateral trade.
Experts say while the two sides try to seek common ground, noticeable differences will linger.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump and Abe, who was on a two-day working visit in the United States, held a one-to-one meeting followed by a restricted bilateral meeting.
Trump told reporters before their bilateral meeting that during the two days they would talk about the situation on the Korean Peninsula and bilateral trade, among others.
Trump said that he and Abe had developed “a very close relationship,” adding that US-Japan ties “have never been closer than they are right now.”
Trump also said that he looked forward to meeting with Kim, hoping “that will be a success.” The Trump-Kim meeting has been planned to take place in May or early June.
Referring to the upcoming meeting, Abe said that he hoped “there will be tangible progress toward resolving the outstanding issues of concern, including nuclear issues, missile issues, as well as the abductions issue, which is the Japanese top priority issue.”
The DPRK acknowledged in 2002 that it had abducted 13 Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. Talks on the issue were shelved in December 2012, when the country launched a long-range missile.
Acknowledging Japan’s concern, Trump responded that Washington will “bring up the abductees” in his meeting with Kim.
“Abe had established the best personal relationship with Trump and yet felt blind-sided by Trump’s sudden and impetuous decision to accept the North Korean (the DPRK’s) invitation for a summit meeting,” said Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center.
The main purpose of Abe’s trip may be communicating to Trump the importance of Japanese security interests in the upcoming summit with Kim, Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.
Tokyo was concerned that its interests might be overlooked by Washington. “One big concern is that Trump might strike a deal with Kim that reduces the threat to the United States but does not change the growing threat to Japan,” said Paal.
Abe would also “seek to ensure that Trump agrees that Japan needs to be present at any multinational negotiations” regarding the Korean Peninsula issue, Jeffrey W. Hornung, political scientist at The RAND Corporation, said.
The Trump-Abe talks were the second between the two since last year.
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