Putin: US would need to offer firm guarantees to NKorea

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says the U.S. will have to offer North Korea solid security guarantees if it wants to strike a denuclearization deal.

Putin, speaking in an interview with a Chinese state broadcaster aired Wednesday, said he hopes that next week’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will bring positive results.

He praised Trump for a “courageous and mature” decision to meet with Kim, but noted that Pyongyang would want “absolute security guarantees” to abandon its nuclear bid after watching wars in Iraq and Libya. He also voiced regret that the U.S. and South Korea failed to stop their military manoeuvrs.

Putin said Russia’s offer to develop joint railway and gas pipeline projects involving both Koreas would help stability in the region.

Japan’s Abe to meet Trump ahead of US-North Korea summit

Meantime, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is heading to Washington to try to make sure Trump doesn’t overlook Japan’s security and other concerns at the unprecedented U.S.-North Korea summit next week.

Abe will have less than two hours to make his points to Trump at the White House on Thursday, ahead of the American president’s meeting in Singapore with North Korea’s leader.

Japan has fallen behind China and South Korea in the recent burst of diplomatic engagement with North Korea. Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have both met Kim twice, as Abe waits his turn.

Abe doesn’t want Trump to strike a compromise that would leave Japan exposed to shorter-range missiles that do not threaten the U.S. mainland.

The summit is expected to take place on June 12 at the Capella Hotel, a luxury resort on Sentosa Island.

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