Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, seeking to draw on his close ties with President Donald Trump in talks on Thursday, will urge the U.S. leader not to forget Tokyo’s security concerns in his drive for a historic deal with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un.

Abe has spoken to Trump 30 times since he became president, including eight face-to-face meetings, and officials say Washington is well-aware of Tokyo’s stance towards Pyongyang.

“Through summits and telephone conversations with President Trump, we have closely liaised and our positions are exactly the same,” Abe told reporters before departing for Washington.

“Ahead of this historic U.S.-North Korea summit, I will meet President Trump to coordinate in order to advance progress on the nuclear issue, missiles and – most importantly – the abductees issue,” he said, referring to the emotive matter of Japanese citizens kidnapped by Pyongyang’s agents decades ago.

“I want to make the U.S.-North Korea summit a success,” he added.