U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later today for talks that will cover trade between the two countries and the anticipated Trump-Kim Summit.
Trump confirmed the meeting in a tweet, giving no further details.
Looking forward to seeing my friend Prime Minister @AbeShinzo of Japan at noon. Will be discussing North Korea and Trade.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2018
Abe is however expected to brief Trump on his country’s security concerns as he gears up for next week’s historic summit with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.
The U.S. president is all set to Kim on 12 June in Singapore, the first time U.S. and DPRK leaders will meet since the Korean War of the 1950s.
The Thursday meeting between Trump and Abe comes just a week after the U.S. president met with a top DPRK general.
As President Trump met with General Kim Yong Chol, a separate team of White House officials also traveled to Singapore to sort out logistics for the historic meeting.
The General’s visit – considering his status – was seen as an assurance by the DPRK’s that it was ready for the Summit.
He accompanied Kim Jong-un on both of his recent trips to China to meet President Xi Jinping and held talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he travelled to Pyongyang.
Notably, he sat next to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who is also a White House aide, during the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in the South Korean resort of Pyeongchang which was a turning point in the nuclear crisis.
