Trump, Abe discuss North Korea's 'grave and growing' threat

Shinzo Abe and Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke Monday about North Korea's weapons, and "agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other countries near and far," the White House said in a statement.

The 50-minute phone call came after North Korea on Friday tested, for the second time this month, a long-range missile. "International society, including Russia and China, need to take this seriously and increase pressure," Abe told reporters after the conversation. A spokesman for Japan's Chief Cabinet said Trump and Abe did not speak about military action against North Korea, or what "red line" North Korea would have to cross to escalate the situation.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.