Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. Trump stated that the U.S. will maintain relations with the regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
“We will have relations with North Korea, with Kim Jong Un. I get along with them very well,” Trump told reporters alongside Ishiba.
Having first engaged with Kim in Singapore in 2018 and being the initial sitting president to do so, Trump aims to continue the personal diplomacy he developed with Kim in his previous term.
President Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June 2018 during his first term as president. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Reacting to the news, Ishiba expressed optimism about Trump and Kim’s meeting during the first presidential term. With Trump now back in office, Ishiba believes that the U.S., Japan, and their allies can make progress on North Korean matters, notably denuclearization.
“Japan and U.S. will work together toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” Ishiba added.
Prime Minister Ishiba also addressed a grievance involving the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Although North Korea released some of the prisoners in the early 2000s, Pyongyang never provided Japan with any explanation for the abduction of its citizens, and there can be no normalization of relations between Japan and North Korea until the issue is resolved.
“And so our time is limited,” Ishiba warned.
“So, I don’t know if the president of the United States, if President Trump is able to resolve this issue. We do understand that it’s a Japan issue, first and foremost. Having said that, we would love to continue to cooperate with them,” the prime minister added.
