Abe to visit U.S. for talks with Trump on April 17-20

TOKYO - 2 April 2018: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he will visit the US between April 17 and 20 for talks with President Donald Trump about North Korea, with the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North on the agenda, Kyodo reported.

"I am planning to visit (Trump's) Mar-a-Lago (resort) in Florida and hold Japan-US summit talks for two days over matters of mutual interest, including the issue of North Korea," Abe told a meeting with senior officials of the government and ruling bloc.

"I will request in person that President Trump raise the abduction issue, which is the most important question (for Japan), during an upcoming US-North Korean summit," he said.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to meet by the end of May in the first-ever summit between Washington and Pyongyang. Before that, Kim is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae In on April 27.

Late last month, Kim made a surprise visit to China and held talks with President Xi Jinping.

Noting that North Korea's recent pursuit of dialogue with world leaders is the result of the "maximum pressure" applied by the international community, Abe stressed the need to keep pushing Pyongyang until it takes concrete steps toward denuclearize.