Getty Images
TOKYO—Japan is pressing the U.S. to stick to a hard line on North Korea ahead of President Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong Un, after Trump appeared to back away from his campaign of “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to meet Trump at the White House on Thursday, the 30th time the two leaders have spoken on the phone or in person. It is less than two months since they had their last face-to-face meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, who traveled to Washington ahead of Abe, met Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday. “There is no change in our position that the international community should properly carry out economic sanctions” until North Korea completely denuclearizes, Kono said.
A Japanese statement about the Kono-Pompeo meeting said the two agreed that North Korea needs to eliminate ballistic missiles of all ranges, nodding to Tokyo’s concern that Trump might focus only on intercontinental ballistic missiles at his talks with Kim in Singapore on Tuesday.
Another purpose of Abe’s visit is to remind Trump of Tokyo’s concern about Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and ’80s. Japan is seeking the return of at least 12 citizens it says were kidnapped by North Korea.
Popular on WSJ.com: