Japan's Abe, Trump agree Korean summit positive for denuclearization

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump welcomed the inter-Korean summit as good for denuclearization and a "historical step" towards peace and stability in northeast Asia, Abe's office said on Sunday.

The leaders of North and South Korea pledged at a historic summit on Friday to work for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula. However, Trump said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Abe and Trump spoke on a 30-minute phone call on Saturday, in which they agreed on how crucial it was that Pyongyang take concrete steps towards denuclearization, the Japanese premier's office said in a statement.

"The important thing is whether North Korea will take specific actions in the future," Abe told reporters late on Saturday, according to remarks released by his office.