TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia (all times local): 6:25 a.m. President Donald Trump is striking…
TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia (all times local):
6:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump is striking a hard line against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and urging Japan to do the same.
Trump has closed out two days of talks, dinner and golf diplomacy with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH’-bay). He is traveling from Tokyo to South Korea Tuesday.
Trump is refusing to rule out eventual military action against North Korea and exhorting dictator Kim Jong Un to stop weapons testing, calling the recent launches of missiles over Japanese territory “a threat to the civilized world and international peace and stability.”
Trump says Abe had agreed to purchase “massive amounts of military equipment, as he should,” arguing the U. S. makes the “best military equipment, by far.”
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12:50 a.m.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie have given a table runner adorned with golden embroidery to President Donald Trump, known for his affinity for gold. It was made by Kyoto-based fabric maker Tatsumura Textile. Abe also gave Melania Trump a bracelet with Japanese motifs. And Abe gave presidential daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump a set of face brushes. Ivanka Trump visited Japan last week.
Abe also gave Trump a golf cap that the both leaders signed that reads: “Donald & Shinzo, Make alliance even greater.” The cap also was autographed by Hideki Matsuyama, a Japanese professional golfer who played with the two leaders on Sunday.
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12:10 a.m.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he and President Donald Trump have drawn considerable attention to golf, but the Japanese leader is giving credit to their predecessors for pioneering golf diplomacy.
Abe says his grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, played with then-President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957 before their talks in Washington.
According to archival photos, Eisenhower won that match, shooting 74 to Kishi’s 99. Their second golf game was planned for 1960 never happened because Kishi resigned amid intensifying protest over a revised security pact he signed.
Abe and Trump had their second golf game on Sunday. Abe says their scores are a secret.
He says when someone plays golf with another person twice, that person must be “your favorite guy.”
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8:24 p.m.
President Donald Trump says Japan’s leader enthusiastically sought a relationship.
Speaking at a banquet in Tokyo Monday, Trump recalled that after his 2016 victory he heard from numerous world leaders, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Trump said he didn’t know that it was customary to wait to meet other leaders until after you take office, and he told Abe he’d be happy to meet with him “any time.”
The president said that when he tried to delay, Abe was already on a plane to New York, “so I had to see him.” Trump said they had a great meeting and Abe “brought me the most beautiful golf club I’ve ever seen.”
Trump says he enjoyed “every minute” of his visit to Japan — the first stop on a five-country Asian tour.
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6 p.m.
President Donald Trump is ratcheting up the pressure on North Korea, refusing to rule out eventual military action and declaring that the United States “will not stand” for Pyongyang menacing America or its Asian allies.
Trump, on the first stop of his lengthy Asia trip, is denouncing North Korea Monday as “a threat to the civilized world.”
He exhorted dictator Kim Jong Un to cease weapons testing like the missiles he has fired over Japanese territory in recent weeks.
Trump did not modulate his fiery language on North Korea, declaring that Pyongyang imperiled “international peace and stability.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with Trump’s assessment that “all options are on the table.”
