Tokyo: President Donald Trump said Monday he is not ‘personally’ bothered by recent short-range missile tests that North Korea conducted this month, breaking with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is hosting the President on four-day state visit full of pageantry.
Standing beside Trump at a news conference after hours of talks, Abe disagreed with the US President. He said the missile tests violated UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and were ‘of great regret’.
Abe, who has forged a strong friendship with Trump and agrees with him on many issues, is concerned because the short-range missiles pose a threat to Japan’s security.
Trump was invited to Japan to be the first world leader to meet with its new emperor. The visit was designed to highlight the US-Japan alliance and showcase the warm relations between the leaders.
Trump said he and Abe deliberated over economic issues, including trade and Iran, during hours of talks at the Akasaka Palace, but North Korea’s recent firing of short-range missiles emerged as an area of disagreement. When asked if he was bothered by the missile tests, Trump said: “No, I’m not. I am personally not.”
Clarifying his statement, Trump said, “All I know is there have been no nuclear tests, no ballistic missiles going out, no long-range missiles going out and I think that someday we’ll have a deal,.
Trump is correct that North Korea has not recently tested a long-range missile that could reach the US. But earlier this month, North Korea fired off a series of short-range missiles that alarmed US allies in closer proximity to North Korea, including Japan. The tests broke a pause in North Korea’s ballistic missile launches that began in late 2017.
Abe reiterated his previous statement that the tests were conducted in defiance of the UN. “This is violating the Security Council resolution,” Abe said, adding that, as North Korea’s neighbour, Japan feels threatened. “It is of great regret. But at the same time between Kim Jong Un and President Trump a certain new approach was taken and that is something that I pay tribute to,” Abe added.
The leaders held hours of talks after the Trump — at Abe’s invitation — became the first world leader to meet Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, who ascended to the throne May 1.
AP