N Korea on Abe-Trump agenda
>> WASHINGTON: North Korea and trade are likely to top the agenda when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump hold a two-day meeting from Tuesday in Florida, a senior US administration official said Friday.
Aside from denuclearisation, North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s is “at the forefront” of Mr Trump’s mind when he thinks of the country, the White House official told reporters.
In the meeting at Mr Trump’s Mar-aLago estate in Palm Beach, Mr Abe plans to request Mr Trump push for the resolution of the abduction issue when he meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May or early June for the first-ever summit between the two countries.
“President Trump, as you’re well aware, when he visited Japan in November last year, he met with family members of the abductees and was very moved by their personal stories as they related to him,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“Those abductees, as well as other abductees from South Korea and, of course, Americans who have been held unlawfully, are at the forefront of his mind whenever he’s thinking about North Korea,” he said.
Asked if Mr Trump would press Mr Kim to abandon not only intercontinental ballistic missiles that could strike the United States, but also short- and medium-range missiles capable of hitting Japan and South Korea, the official declined to answer directly.
“I won’t go into details other than to say that the president of the United States is always keeping careful consideration of the interests of our allies and our alliances, as well as the interests of securing the American people here at home,” he said.
As for Japan’s desire to win an exemption from stiff tariffs the United States recently invoked on steel and aluminium imports, the official said the issue “may well come up” during the Abe-Trump summit.
Mr “has left open an avenue to potentially modify or remove restrictions on imports from those countries under the right conditions,” according to the official, without providing details.
Referring to Mr Trump’s interest in rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, the official said the president believes he would consider negotiating with Japan and 10 other TPP members — either individually or as a group — if it is in the interests of American business and workers.
In a major policy shift, Mr Trump on Thursday directed his economic advisers to look into rejoining the TPP, a regional trade agreement he abandoned soon after he took office last year, as the United States is in a simmering trade dispute with China.
Mr Abe and Mr Trump are also expected to discuss China’s militarisation of outposts in disputed areas of the South China Sea, the White House official said, as Washington continues freedom of navigation operations and cooperates with like-minded countries to push back on Beijing’s unilateral action.
“I think that, naturally, the issue of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea will come up,” he said. “It is really a matter of international concern when artificial features in the South China Sea are militarised, as we’ve seen happen incrementally over a number of years now.”
China has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which over one-third of global trade passes.
Other topics include the two allies’ shared priorities across the Indo-Pacific region, such as how Tokyo and Washington can work together to ensure universal access to affordable energy, high-quality trade and investment standards, freedom of the seas, respect for human rights and international law, according to the official.
“The president has a great deal of respect for Prime Minister Abe’s views on Northeast Asian security,” he said.
Asked if the two leaders will play golf in Florida as they did during Mr Trump’s visit to Japan, the official said, “It’s a working visit. And the focus is really on the discussion of those high-priority issues that I mentioned. Golf is not on the official schedule.”