Japan’s Abe to visit US from April 17 to 20

— Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida in mid-April to discuss trade, North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and issues of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.

Abe said he will visit Florida from April 17 to 20 ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which is expected to be held by the end of May.

“Dialogue (with North Korea) for the sake of dialogue is meaningless,” Abe said at a meeting of the ruling coalition. “We need to keep maximizing pressure on North Korea to make them take concrete actions towards denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.”

Abe said he will ask Trump to discuss the abduction issues dur- ing his meeting with Kim.

Trump met family members of some of the abductees while visiting Tokyo in November, vowing to work with Abe to bring the victims back home.

Japan lists 17 nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s.

Trump and Abe will also discuss the importance of free trade, Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Monday.

Last month, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. While the European Union and some other countries, including Canada and Mexico, are exempted from import duties, Japan is not.

“We have conveyed our concerns about the tariffs to the United States on various levels,” Suga said.