President Donald Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday and announced that the United States will maintain relations with dictator Kim Jong Un’s North Korean regime.
“We will maintain relations with North Korea, specifically Kim Jong Un. “I get along well with them,” Trump told reporters alongside Ishiba.
Trump, who first met Kim in Singapore in 2018 and became the first sitting president to meet with North Korea’s leader, is hoping to build on the personal diplomacy he established with Kim during his first term.
We had a good relationship. And I believe it’s a huge advantage for everyone that I get along with them,” the president said.
Trump met Kim again in 2019 and became the first president to enter North Korean territory through the demilitarized zone.
Trump stated that Japan would welcome renewed dialogue with North Korea because relations between the two countries have been strained since diplomatic relations were not established.
“And I can tell you that Japan likes the idea because their relationship is not very good with him,” said the president.
Ishiba said it’s a good thing Trump and Kim met during Trump’s first term. And now that he has returned to power, the United States, Japan, and their allies can work to resolve issues with North Korea, including denuclearization.
“Japan and U.S. will work together toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” according to Ishiba.
Prime Minister Ishiba also addressed a grievance over North Korea’s abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. Although North Korea released some of the prisoners in the early 2000s, Pyongyang has never provided Japan with an explanation for the abduction of its citizens, and relations between Japan and North Korea cannot be normalized until the issue is resolved.
“So our time is limited,” Ishiba cautioned.
“So, I don’t know if the president of the United States, if President Trump is able to resolve this issue. We do understand that it’s a Japan issue, first and foremost. Having said that, we would love to continue to cooperate with them,” the prime minister added.
