TOKYO — With efforts being made to reinstate the planned summit meeting between President Trump and North Korea’s leader, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan is not taking any chances. After speaking with Mr. Trump by telephone on Monday, Mr. Abe told reporters in Tokyo that he and the American president had “agreed to meet before the U.S.-North Korea summit.”Mr. Abe has been concerned that Mr. Trump might make a nuclear disarmament deal with North Korea that protects the United States but does not address Tokyo’s worries about the North’s short-range missiles that could hit Japan. By offering to meet with the American president before he heads to Singapore, Mr. Abe hopes to be one of the last advisers to have his ear before he meets with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

Source: New York Times May 28, 2018 16:28 UTC