TOKYO — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged Saturday that the Trump administration’s effort to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons would be fully coordinated with allies Japan and South Korea, as he prepared to travel to Pyongyang under pressure to produce tangible progress toward that goal.
Pompeo met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on the eve of his fourth visit to North Korea, during which he’ll be looking to arrange a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and plot a path forward on denuclearization. Japan, notably, has been wary of Trump’s initiative, fearing it could affect its long-standing security relationship with the U.S.
Pompeo told Abe that it is important for him to hear from the Japanese leader “so we have a fully coordinated and unified view” and vowed to raise the cases of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea when he sees Kim and officials in Pyongyang on Sunday. Pompeo will then travel to South Korea and China to review the negotiations. (AP)