The phone call comes amid threats from North Korea that it will sink a U.S. Navy strike group that's led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier; it also follows reports from a North Korean university that one of its lecturers, who holds U.S. and South Korean citizenship, has been detained.
North Korea asserts that it fears nothing and will obliterate the USA and its allies with its "treasured nuclear sword", yet the reality is that Pyongyang is deeply concerned that it may one day cease to exist, that it will be destroyed by the US and its strategic partners.
North Korea is thought to be preparing to conduct further test-firings of missiles or a sixth nuclear test, possibly around the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army on Tuesday.
"We completely agreed to strongly demand that North Korea, who's been repeatedly unsafe and provocative, show restraint", Abe told reporters Monday.
"We completely agreed to strongly seek self-restraint from North Korea, which is still continuing its risky provocative acts", Abe said at the prime minister's office.
It's not yet clear why Kim might have been detained, other than as a possible bargaining tool for North Korea in global negotiations over its nuclear program and a dire need for imports of foodstuffs, coal, and other vital supplies - the bulk of which come from China.
North Korea could reduce a US strike force to a sea wreck if it's provoked, the country's propaganda outlets said Monday, adding to tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Japan's Nikkei gains as French vote relief weakens yen
With 90% of votes counted , the Interior Ministry said Mr Macron had almost 24%, giving him a slight cushion over Ms Le Pen's 22%. A new Harris survey saw Macron winning the runoff by 64 percent to 36, and an Ipsos/Sopra Steria poll gave a similar result.
The editorial, described as being written by an army officer, said it was a "big miscalculation" for Washington to compare the North to Syria, which did not launch an "immediate counterattack" after a U.S. cruise missile strike earlier this month.
South Korea's Defense Ministry has said the North appears ready to conduct such "strategic provocations" at any time.
North Korea regularly threatens Japan, a key US ally in the region.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that North Korea had detained a US citizen, bringing to three the number of Americans being held in the isolated country. Sweden's diplomats take care of consular affairs on behalf of the U.S.in North Korea. It also a year ago launched a long-range rocket that delivered a satellite into orbit, which Washington, Seoul and others saw as a banned test of missile technology.
The comments came ahead of a failed missile test coinciding with the 105th anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-Sung. This indicated that North Korea is developing technologies to "cold-launch" ICBMs, ejecting them from the launch tubes before they ignite in midair, which would prevent its limited number of ICBM-capable launcher trucks from being damaged and also allow the missiles to be fired from silos. Experts say that a prolonged stoppage would most likely cause the North Korean economy to seize up.
In March, the North's state media reported that the country successfully conducted a ground test of a new high-thrust rocket engine, which it said was a breakthrough for the country's space program and efforts to create "Korean-style strategic weapons". He said on Trump's behalf that the United States is with Japan "100 percent" in "these challenging times".
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