Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Says Trump To Meet Families Of Japanese Nationals Abducted By North Korea - Reports

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump would meet again the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean security services back in the 1970s-1980s during his upcoming visit to Tokyo, local media reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2019) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump would meet again the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean security services back in the 1970s-1980s during his upcoming visit to Tokyo, local media reported.

Trump is expected to pay a four-day visit to Japan on May 25. The US leader met these families during his visit to Japan in November 2017.

Abe said at a government meeting that Tokyo and Washington would resolve the issue of the abducted Japanese citizens, according to the NHK broadcaster.

Trump will also hold a meeting with Abe to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the bilateral cooperation and other issues, the broadcaster said.

Japan insists that North Korean security services have abducted a total of 17 Japanese nationals. Most of them were reportedly kidnapped in order to teach Japanese language and culture at schools for North Korean spies, so that they could pretend to be Japanese. Pyongyang admitted in 2002 abducting only 13 of them, denying involvement in any other disappearances. Five of the kidnapped Japanese citizens repatriated in 2002, and North Korea has claimed that eight others have died. Tokyo refuses to believe this and requests investigation.