TRUMP, JAPANESE LEADER TO INCREASE PRESSURE ON NORTH KOREA

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed in phone talks that they would step up pressure on North Korea in cooperation with South Korea. The bilateral talks were aimed at confirming close cooperation among the United States, Japan and South Korea before a Group of 20 summit meeting to be held in Hamburg, Germany. The two leaders stressed that their countries are “ready to defend and respond to any threat or action taken by North Korea. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda told the Japanese news agency Kyodo, meanwhile that Abe praised Trump for sanctions the United States imposed last week on a Chinese bank and individuals accused of laundering money for North Korea.