Japan’s Abe could meet Kim Jong-un in Russia’s Vladivostok – report

The Japanese government is reportedly trying to arrange a high-level meeting with the North Korean leader, Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reports. One of the possible venues for talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Kim Jong-un is the Russian city of Vladivostok, should the North Korean leader decide to attend the Eastern Economic Forum there in mid-September. According to the publication's sources, another option on the table is for Abe to visit Pyongyang directly. While both countries have been in contact several times in recent months to negotiate a possible meeting between the two leaders, a face-to-face encounter might be needed for Tokyo to fully support the denuclearization arrangement, reached between Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore this week. Japan earlier noted that it may contribute to the costs of North Korea’s denuclearization if the International Atomic Energy Agency restarts inspections.