"We have held tense talks with President Trump on North Korea. A high-level meeting between the North and the South is being planned, then the US-North Korean summit … I hope that the US-North Korean summit will be historic and will pave the way for the settlement of the issues of nuclear arms, weapons of mass destruction, various ballistic missiles and the most important problem – the detained Japanese citizens," Abe said late on Wednesday at the joint press conference with the US leader.
The Japanese prime minister added that Tokyo, Washington and Seoul would jointly cooperate on the settlement of the aforementioned issues.
Abe is currently on his visit to the United States, during which he met with US President Donald Trump in order to discuss preparations for the upcoming summit between the US leader and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, as well as issues of mutual interest.
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Despite years of tensions, the situation on the Korean peninsula has improved significantly over recent months. In his New Year’s speech, Kim expressed his readiness to resume talks with Seoul.
The meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim is scheduled for April 27, and it will be followed by Trump’s meeting with Kim, expected to take place at the end of May or June.