KYODO NEWS - Jun 8, 2018 - 10:00 | All, World

U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday that he will push for resolving the Japanese abduction issue during his unprecedented meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un next week in Singapore.

Abe expressed eagerness to meet with Kim himself, saying, "I would like to directly face North Korea and talk with (Kim) so as to achieve an early resolution to the abduction issue."

In a meeting at the White House, Trump and Abe underscored that the two allies, in coordination with the international community, will maintain pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to compel it to rid itself of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Abe after the meeting, Trump said, "We will be discussing that with North Korea, absolutely," in reference to the issue involving Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abe urged Kim to take credible actions to address the issue, saying that Japan, based on a 2002 bilateral declaration, is prepared to normalize diplomatic relations and extend economic cooperation to North Korea.

"But first and foremost, Japan would like to extend its full support for the success of the historic U.S.-North Korea summit on the 12th in Singapore so as to advance the abduction, nuclear and missile issues," the prime minister said.

(Sakie Yokota, the mother of Megumi Yokota who was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at the age of 13, visits an exhibition of photographs of her daughter in Tokyo on May 8)

Expressing his readiness for a meeting with Kim in the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit, Trump said the two sides could sign an agreement to end the 1950-1953 Korean War.

"We're looking at it. We're talking about it with them," he said. "As you know, that would be a first step. It's what happens after the agreement that really is the big point."

Trump said he could invite Kim to visit the United States, possibly the White House, if the summit goes well, and that he would like to see the normalization of diplomatic relations with North Korea.

At the same time, the president said if things do not go well, he could reinstate the policy of applying "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang.

Although Trump said last week he does not want to use the term "maximum pressure" in consideration of "a friendly negotiation" in the upcoming summit, he repeated that "we cannot take sanctions off" unless the North denuclearizes.

"Perhaps after that negotiation, I will be using it again," he said. "We have a list of over 300 massive, in some cases, sanctions to put on North Korea. And I've decided to hold that until we can make a deal."

In the meeting with Abe, Trump said he does not expect to reach a nuclear deal with Kim in just one meeting. Tuesday's meeting, he said, will be part of "a process" toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"I think it's not a one meeting deal," the U.S. leader said. "At a minimum, we'll start with, perhaps, a good relationship. And that's something that's very important toward the ultimate making of a deal."

Aside from North Korea, Trump said he seeks a bilateral free trade agreement with Japan as part of efforts to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with the world's third-largest economy.

"We're working hard to reduce our trade imbalance, which is very substantial, remove barriers to U.S. exports, and to achieve a fair and mutually beneficial economic partnership," he said.

Trump quoted Abe as telling him that Japan will buy "billions and billions of dollars" of American products, ranging from military jets and civilian aircraft to agricultural products.

The two leaders agreed Tokyo and Washington will hold the first round of their new dialogue on trade and investment in July, a senior Japanese official told reporters after the Abe-Trump meeting.

The two governments have yet to decide where to hold the dialogue, which will be led by Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's economic and fiscal policy minister, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Abe and Trump met before they attend a two-day Group of Seven summit beginning Friday in Quebec, Canada, where Pyongyang's weapons programs and issues related to global trade will be high on the agenda.

The leaders of the G-7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union -- are expected to demand that North Korea dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, missiles and related facilities in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way.