TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this month ahead of a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A statement from the White House said the meeting between Trump and Abe on April 17th and 18th will include a discussion of the international campaign to maintain maximum pressure on North Korea.
Trump and Abe will also explore ways to expand fair and reciprocal trade and investment ties between the U.S. and Japan, the White House said.
The summit at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort will mark the third meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office.
The White House said the meeting will reaffirm the U.S.-Japan alliance as a cornerstone of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Last week, Trump said he is looking forward to a meeting with Kim but noted tough sanctions on North Korea will remain in place.
Trump indicated in a post on Twitter last Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping described his covert meeting with Kim as going 'very well.'
'Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me,' Trump tweeted.
He added, 'In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!'
Kim reportedly spent several days in China in his first trip outside of North Korea since he took over control of the country from his late father in 2011.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said last Tuesday the Chinese government briefed the U.S. about the meeting between Xi and Kim.
'We see this development as further evidence that our campaign of maximum pressure is creating the appropriate atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea,' Sanders said.
Trump suggested in a post on Twitter that his planned meeting with Kim could result in the long-sought goal of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
'For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility,' Trump tweeted.
'Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity,' he added. 'Look forward to our meeting!'
Last month, Sanders confirmed Trump had accepted an invitation to meet with Kim at a place and time to be determined.
The news of the planned meeting was first revealed by South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong, who said the two leaders would meet by May.
A meeting between Trump and Kim would be the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX