NHK reported at noon that during a news conference this morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga commented on President Trump’s remark on North Korea’s recent missile launches at the joint news conference yesterday that while certain U.S. administration officials think they could be a violation of UN resolutions, “I view it differently.” Suga said he understood this remark was made in the context of the relationship of trust between the President and Kim Jong Un. He was quoted as saying: “Launching ballistic missiles is clearly in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and we have confirmed this position with the U.S. government on many occasions. The two countries intend to continue to work for the full implementation of these resolutions.”

NHK also reported on Foreign Minister Kono’s comments on the President’s remark this morning, saying Japan and the U.S. are in agreement that the missile launches violated UN resolutions. He reportedly suggested that the President was only making various comments in relation to the U.S.-DPRK agreement.