Japanese FM Kono, Pompeo to hold talks before 2nd Trump-Kim summit

Tokyo [Japan], Jan 21 (ANI): Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is slated to meet United States Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo before the second summit place between the US and North Korea in mid-February.
Apart from addressing North Korea’s denuclearisation over a brief phone call on Monday, Pompeo briefed Kono about his recent meeting with Kim Yong Chol, a close aide to the North Korean supremo Kim Jong-Un, the Japan Times reported.
According to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry of Japan on Monday, the phone conversation between Kono and Pompeo came after the White House on Friday informed that US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un will be holding their second summit in February at a location to be announced soon.
To achieve denuclearization in the entire Korean peninsula, both Kono and Pompeo agreed to maintain sanctions against North Korea. They also agreed to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries as well as a trilateral cooperation with South Korea.
Japan and the US also agreed to work closely on resolving the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, the statement said. (ANI)