WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump is expressing confidence that a new trade deal can be worked out with Japan.
Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for meetings at the White House on Friday.
The president says he believes a deal can be struck “quickly,” perhaps even in time to be signed during his visit to Japan next month for the installation of its new emperor.
Trump also says he hopes to attend a sumo wrestling match while in Japan.
Abe and his wife are set to join Trump and Melania Trump for dinner Friday in honor of the first lady’s birthday.
And the president and prime minister are planning to play a round of golf Saturday.
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12:50 p.m.
North Korea’s nuclear program and trade are at the top of the agenda for President Donald Trump’s meeting Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of the president’s key backers on the world stage.
The meeting comes on the heels of Thursday’s nuclear talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Trump’s second summit with Kim in Hanoi in February ended with no agreement, but the president says progress is being made.
Beyond the formal talks between Trump and Abe, the Japanese leader and his wife, Akie, were to help celebrate first lady Melania Trump’s 49th birthday Friday at a couples’ dinner in the White House residence.
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