Japan expects positive outcomes of DPRK-USA Hanoi Summit

Japan hopes the summit will lead to the DPRK’s scrapping of its weapons of mass destruction in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and the settlement of the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang.

Before the summit, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Kono had phone calls with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, respectively, asking them to handle these issues.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry also sent Kenji Kanasugi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, to Hanoi to gather information on the summit.

Kono told reporters on February 26 that the international community is united in its position that sanctions against the DPRK should remain in place until it takes steps to denuclearisation.