The Latest: Trump vows to help free Japanese held in NKorea

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump is pledging to help free Japanese citizens abducted and held captive by North Korea.

Trump said Wednesday that he made "a promise" to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help return the captives believed held by the regime of North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un.

Trump, standing with Abe at a summit in Florida, says he knows that the abductees were "one of the truly most important things on Shinzo's mind."

The president says he wants "to see these families reunited as soon as possible."

Pyongyang has acknowledged abducting 13 Japanese, while Tokyo maintains North Korea abducted at least 17 in the 1970s and 1980s to train agents in Japanese language and culture to spy on South Korea.

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3:05 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he's seeking "free, fair and reciprocal" trade in his discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trump said Wednesday during their second day of meetings at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that Japan is ordering large numbers of airplanes from U.S. companies that will "help with the process of equalization" of trade.

The president says he's seeking to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with Japan and hopes the two countries can move toward "reciprocal" trade.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump and Abe made time for a round of golf.

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8:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump and Japan's Shinzo Abe are making time for a round of golf during their Mar-a-Lago summit.

The leaders arrived at Trump International Golf Club, a Trump-owned course, in West Palm Beach early Wednesday morning.

Trump and Abe are both avid golfers and played last year at another Trump course, in Jupiter, Florida.

They also partook in a round of "golf diplomacy" at the Kasumi Country Club when Trump visited Japan last year.

During that round, Abe at one point fell backward into a bunker. He quickly recovered and Trump didn't appear to see the fall.

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12:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump is seeking to reassure Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of their close alliance ahead of Trump's planned talks with North Korea.

The two-day Trump-Abe summit is playing out amid growing tensions over trade and North Korea.

Officials signal Trump is open to considering exempting Japan from new steel and aluminum tariffs that Abe opposes.

Trump also gave Abe a win on Tuesday, pledging to raise the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea, a top Japanese priority, in his meeting with Kim.

But Trump later suggested there was one area where he and Abe would have to agree to disagree: the Trans-Pacific trade partnership, which Trump pulled the U.S. out of days after his inauguration, but has recently said he might be open to re-joining.