US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he will coordinate closely with Japan during denuclearization talks with North Korea and promised to raise the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens in his meetings in Pyongyang.
Pompeo met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday on the eve of his fourth visit to North Korea, during which he will be looking to arrange a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and prepare a path forward on denuclearization.
“We will have a fully coordinated, unified view of how to proceed, which will be what is needed if it is going to be successful in denuclearizing North Korea,” Pompeo told Abe. “We will bring up the issue of the abductees as well.”
Pompeo also said ties between Japan and the United States were strong and the two countries were in a position to make progress on trade talks.
Despite Kim’s pledge to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, Japan still…