Abe’s trip to the United States comes amid a number of media reports that North Korean officials are not happy with the US negotiations team, and a week after Pyongyang reportedly tested a new tactical weapon.
"It's an important opportunity for the leaders to exchange views on recent developments with North Korea as well and to coordinate future actions… aimed at achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea," a senior US administration official told reporters during a conference call on Thursday.
The official said all future actions would also include consultations with US ally South Korea.
READ MORE: Trump to Visit Japan on May 25-28 for Talks With Abe — White House
Both leaders will also review recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region and discuss next steps to address any challenges, the official said.
Trump and Abe are also expected to discuss efforts to enhance trade and investment between the countries, according to the White House.
In addition, the official added that Trump and Abe will talk about priorities for the G-20 Finance Ministerial that will be held in Osaka, Japan in late June.
The two leaders are also scheduled to play golf at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, the Washington Post reported.
Last June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump during talks in Singapore expressed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
In late February, Trump and Kim held their second summit in the Vietnamese capital in an attempt to give the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula more momentum. The highly anticipated meeting failed to produce an accord, and the leaders left the summit earlier than planned. Negotiations fell apart after Pyongyang said it wanted Washington to lift all sanctions on the country before it started denuclearizing, to which the United States could not agree.
