Trump, Japanese leader to meet ahead of possible North Korea summit

President Trump agreed on Monday to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of a possible summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, The Washington Post reported.

The agreement was made during a Monday phone call between Trump and Abe, according to the Post, which added that a Japanese official said a meeting between the two leaders could happen during the G-7 meeting in Quebec on June 8 and 9. 

It is also possible that Abe will visit Washington before the meeting, the official said.

The development comes as the Trump administration works to salvage a summit with Kim originally scheduled for June 12 in Singapore. Trump announced last week he was withdrawing from the summit but left open the door to future talks with Kim.

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Since then, Trump has said the summit could still happen and that it could take place on the original date.

The U.S. has a team, led by White House deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin, in Singapore working on the logistics of a possible summit, officials said.

While South Korean President Moon Jae-in has worked to bring together Trump and Kim, Abe has expressed concern that a deal between North Korea and the U.S. could leave Japan’s security interests unresolved, the Post noted.

Abe met with Trump last month to urge him to discuss North Korea’s short- and medium-range ballistic missiles when he meets with Kim, the newspaper added. He also asked Trump to resolve the case of the 12 Japanese nationals that were taken by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

Abe brought up the case of the abducted nationals again during his Monday call with Trump, according to the Post.