Abe, Moon, Trump to hold trilateral talks on N. Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US leader Donald Trump will hold a trilateral meeting at the G20 summit to discuss increasing pressure on North Korea.

Abe agreed in a telephone call on Monday with Trump to hold the meeting after a previous conversation with Moon, Japanese government spokesperson Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference.

The trilateral talks will take place within the framework of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, which begins on Friday and will also be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Efe news reported.

"The meeting is necessary to coordinate the response to North Korea's provocations," said Suga, who also pointed to the need for China to be part of the solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

Moon and Trump already highlighted the need to intensify pressure on North Korea last week in Washington during the first meeting between the two leaders.

In recent months, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's regime boosted its challenge to the international community with frequent missile tests that escalated tension in the region.

In response, the Trump administration hardened its rhetoric towards Pyongyang, even hinting at the possibility of a pre-emptive strike against North Korea.

Moon's government, meanwhile, is seeking to resolve tension through rapprochement, while maintaining a firm stance towards Pyongyang's continued weapons tests.

--IANS

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