Donald Trump and Shinzo Abe agree to keep pressure up on North Korea

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and US President Donald Trump agreed in telephone talks on Wednesday night to continue to put pressure on North Korea over its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes.

The talks, which lasted more than an hour, emphasised the need to keep leaning on the country until it seeks a dialogue on giving up its nuclear programme.

“Dialogue for the sake of dialogue would be meaningless,” Abe said. “We talked thoroughly about what we should do from here on to make the denuclearisation of North Korea a reality.”

Abe also said the two confirmed the unshakeable bond of the Japan-US alliance in the face of the North Korea threat.

A senior government official said later that Abe and Trump shared the importance of US-South Korea joint military exercises.

Abe’s conversation with Trump, the second this month, followed a display of unity between North and South Korea at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

It came amid concern in Tokyo that the thaw between the two Koreas could compromise efforts to maximise diplomatic and economic pressure on Pyongyang and lead to the start of dialogue on North Korea’s terms, effectively accepting it as a nuclear power.