Trump meets families of Japanese abducted by N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan: US President Donald Trump met Tuesday with families of Japanese abducted by North Korea decades ago and said “the US is with them all the way” as they asked for help to find their loved ones.

After years of denial, North Korea admitted in 2002 that it had sent agents to kidnap 13 Japanese people who were used to train spies in Japanese language and customs.

The comments came ahead of a mooted meeting between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, as the US president heads to South Korea on the next leg of his Asia tour.

In Tokyo on Tuesday, Trump met new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, declaring that the United States was “an ally at the strongest level”.

The White House announced that the countries had signed an agreement on the supply of rare earths, a critical sector dominated by China that has deepened the antipathy between Washington and Beijing.

Speaking before arriving in Japan on Monday, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal with Xi, whom he will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in their first face-to-face meeting since the US leader returned to office.

Key Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang said Sunday a “preliminary consensus” with the United States had been reached.