Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that he and U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to meet ahead of the possible summit between Trump and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un.
Abe made the remarks to reporters after a phone call with Trump Monday night.
He said that during the phone call Trump briefed him about the recent developments surrounding the planned DPRK-U.S. summit.
Although he could not reveal the details, Japan and the United States had agreed to cooperate to make the DPRK-U.S. summit "meaningful," the Japanese prime minister added.
The two sides also discussed the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by DPRK decades ago, according to Abe.
Trump canceled the scheduled summit between him and Kim last Thursday, saying that it will not happen "based on the tremendous anger and open hostility" displayed in the DPRK's recent statements.
However, he reversed course just one day after the announcement. Both sides wanted the meeting to happen and it could still go ahead after productive talks, he said.
The Kim-Trump meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12.
