PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump promised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday that a “bright path” lies ahead for his country if he commits to “verifiable and irreversible” denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Speaking to reporters here at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed his upcoming summit with Kim at length during their two-day summit and intend to work together in the coming weeks to ensure both countries’ security interests are met during talks with Pyongyang.
“As I’ve said before, there’s a bright path available to North Korea when it achieves denuclearization in a completely verifiable and irreversible way,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Abe on the second day of their bilateral summit.
Turning directly to Abe, the president said, “I want to thank the prime minister for his insight and support over the past year … You’re a lot closer [to North Korea] than we are, but we’ll work on this together.”
Abe said he was “deeply encouraged” by his talks with Trump ahead of the U.S. leader’s historic meeting with Kim, emphasizing the president’s commitment to demand that Japanese abductees be released during their talks.
“If North Korea takes the right path … there could be a possible path to settle the unfortunate past and to normalize a diplomatic relationship” between Japan and the Kim regime, Abe said.
Abe also thanked Trump for showing his emphatic support for the longstanding U.S.-Japan alliance during his visit to the U.S. last spring, when North Korea launched a series of missile tests.
“Immediately after, President Trump stepped forward in front of the camera and made one following comment: ‘The U.S. is with our ally Japan 100 percent,'” Abe recalled.
