The summit is “more than a photo-op,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office ahead of a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
He said the “summit is all ready to go” and that it could extend beyond a single day.
Trump welcomed Abe for their second meeting in less than two months to discuss Trump’s upcoming summit with Kim in Singapore next week.
Abe, who enjoys a close relationship with Trump, is expected to continue to press Trump to strike a hard line with Kim and to urge him to maintain pressure on North Korea until it agrees to full and verifiable denuclearization.
Abe has also said he will urge Trump to raise the issue of Japanese abductees held in North Korea during his discussions with Kim.
“Ahead of this historic US-North Korea summit, I will meet President Trump to coordinate in order to advance progress on the nuclear issue, missiles and — most importantly — the abductees issue, I want to ensure the US-North Korea summit will be a success,” Abe said Wednesday.
Trump tweeted Thursday that he also plans to discuss trade issues with Abe in addition to coordinating with Japan on the upcoming Singapore summit.
Abe most recently travelled to the US in April to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, where he warned trump of North Korean negotiating ploys and urged him to closely coordinate with Japan ahead of the summit.
The Japanese prime minister has been publicly supportive of Trump’s diplomatic efforts with North Korea, but he has struck a more cautious note about the summit than South Korea’s Moon Jae-in, the prime minister of the US’ other closest ally in the region, who has staked his presidency on the prospect of a diplomatic resolution with North Korea.