Abe to ask Trump ‘to seek elimination’ of N. Korean missiles that could reach Japan

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that he will ask President Donald Trump to seek the elimination of all North Korean missiles that could reach Japan when he meets the US leader in Washington next week. Abe’s visit comes ahead of the first-ever US-North Korean summit. Merely getting rid of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which Pyongyang says can reach the US mainland, “has no meaning for Japan, so I want to tell the president that [North Korea] should also abandon short and intermediate-range missiles that put Japan within range,” Abe said during a parliamentary committee session. The PM also reiterated that he will ask Trump to raise the issue of North Korea’s past abductions of Japanese nationals with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kyodo reported. The summit between the two Koreas is scheduled for April 27, while Trump has agreed to meet Kim at some point before the end of May.