U.S. President, Donald Trump says on Thursday that everything was ‘ready to go’ for the next week summit with the Korean Leader Kim Jong-un.
Trump made the remarks when he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House for preparatory talks before the summit.
“The summit is all ready to go,” Trump told reporters. “It’s all going along very fine. I hope it continues on this track.”
Trump and Abe were to hold a joint press conference at the White House at about 2:00 p.m. local time before heading to Canada for what promises to be a tense Group of Seven (G7) summit clouded by the US leader’s controversial trade tariffs.
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But before tackling the thorny trade issue, Trump expressed unbridled optimism about his June 12summit with Kim in Singapore.
His enthusiasm to hold the meeting with Kim has reportedly prompted concerns in Tokyo that a hasty deal between the US and North Korea would leave Japan exposed to a perceived North Korean missile threat.
Japan has been anxiously watching ever since a thaw began first between Pyongyang and Seoul and then between North Korea and the US.
Japan also reportedly fears that Trump could eventually agree to reduce US military forces in South Korea, leaving Japan — which has been highly dependent on US military protection since Tokyo’s defeat in World War II — to fend for itself.
