FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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Abe Considers Integrating North Korea’s Economy Will Greatly Benefit World

June 11, 2018 (EIRNS)—Addressing the Tokyo dinner gathering of regional leaders attending the 24th “Future of Asia” Conference organized by Nikkei Inc., Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked forward to the opening up of North Korea’s economy, which will greatly benefit the Asia-Pacific, reported Singapore’s Straits Times. Abe’s statement, made one day before the June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un in Singapore, was described by the Straits Times as “a marked departure from the hawkish ‘maximum pressure’ rhetoric championed by Japan.”

The daily quoted Abe as saying,

“There can be no doubt that the effects of North Korea taking steps down the path towards peace, the rule of law, and stability will transcend Asia and extend to the global economy as a whole.”

At that gathering, Abe, who had just returned from the G7 summit in Quebec, also said Japan will set up a new $50 billion framework to help finance state-of-the-art infrastructure projects in the East Asia region. “We hope this will be of some help to building high-quality infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region,” Abe said. Under the framework, the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation will make investments and provide loans using public and private-sector funds over the next three years, according to the Straits Times coverage.