Japan forced to reconsider 'pressure' policy toward North Korea

What's the big difference between the current maximum pressure and not increasing that further? Semantic nonsense. The only "story" here is that Trump has a propensity to say things that throw everyone working with him off balance without warning. True of his own administration as well as foreign leaders. Let the meeting happen and lets see what Trump comes back with. Some people seem to think he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for agreeing to something that North Korea has been begging for, for the last couple of decades, and all previous US Presidents have declined.

Abe bets on the wrong house again. In fact, every house he bets, turns out to be a wrong house. When NK took dramatic change of policy, instead of maximal encouragement, Abe continues his maximal pressure. North Koreans really get confused by Abe: pressure what, do you want us to go back to nuclearized status ? Of course, Abe always says, no change of status quo unilaterally, as if the world should be always dark, no brightness is allowed without Abe's approval. Fortunately, the world has only one Abe, and all the rest billion others are the none stupid. The North Koreans change the status quo unilaterally, what can you do, Abe ?

Pressure is all that Abe can do. That's the sum total of his techniques. It may work in a setting where people have been programmed to accept and obey a superior blindly but in an international setting it doesn't. Abe and politicians like him need to learn to listen and understand as well as bellow orders. Two way communication is needed, but unfortunately Abe does not have this skill.

Some Japanese like Abe were still living in Imperial Colonial era that Japan still has a say over the Koreans! While they have no idea they were also living in a colonial! There is only three countries can determined tge fate of Korean peninsula China Russia and U.S. They were nuclear powers!

Oh, no! Backtracking!?

Trump will say stop your nukes, Kim will say we can’t trust you, and Abe will try to seem important. It’s like a 70's sitcom.

Japan should just sit tight and let the DPRK and the US play their games, which are apt to fail, leaving Moon with egg on his face. Maximum pressure will be again required of the US and Japan after all this.

Abe clutching at straws an panicking as he becomes less and less relevant.

Abe’s pressure tactics have got him nowhere!

Whilst everyone else is talking and getting ready for more I dialogue,Japan is reporting on oil exchanges between North Korea and China.

Nevermind, Abe always has the Senkaku Islands to focus on....

Could the Japanese look any more emasculated and beta? Truly pathetic nation.

And suddenly no mention of the previously much touted big issue for Abe of the abductees.

Now demonstrably just domestic political grandstanding.

Most people, including most Japanese, don't know that Northeast Asia used to be one big happy family. The current divided Northeast Asia is mainly due to Japanese Imperialism and militarism. Koreans are still divided, as a result, the Chinese are still divided, as another result. Japan still is working very hard to divide South East Asians. Japan really enjoys dividing the world. There is nothing that Japan can't divide.

WOW! So Chairman Mao's Great Leap Forward that killed 45 million people and the Cutural Revolution was all a Japanese covert op?

With your amazing Asian geopolitical knowledge, I hope you write a book about it. Maybe Harry Potter will star in the movie version.

zichi, you are right. If China can't be divided territoriality, then Japan will divide it using all kind of values, including hair count and armpit odor. As long as you dare think differently, then you can be divided accordingly.

China building fake islands on top of coral reefs? We all knew that it would eventually be armed. Whoa! Shocker! China puts weapons on their fake islands. How the world stands for this is telling. The corporate world don't give a crap! Look at Palestin, look at China building military bases in the middle of the ocean?

As long as you dare think differently, then you can be divided 

A divided Chinese government. Now that would be a rare site. Kind of like a divided mafia. Lol

The world knows Abe is fake.

FizzBit,

A divided Chinese government. Now that would be a rare site. Kind of like a divided mafia. Lol

Well, the country is pretty well divided. I wonder if the government is as coherent as you think it is!

Japan needs to remain neutral. Let the ROK take the lead and never do trumps dirty work for him!

What pressure exactly? And what does “maximum” exactly mean differently from blabla? Abe misses the expiry date of empty stock phrases and now doesn’t know what to do, “leading” Japan into irrelevance.

zichiToday 12:34 am JST

Three Royal Navy warships have been deployed to the South China Sea to help maintain the international shipping lanes

It's actually to monitor North Korean sanctions breaking.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-britain/british-warship-to-help-police-north-korean-sanctions-idUSKBN1HI1HW