Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarked on a tour to the United States and the Middle East on Thursday.

He is scheduled to hold summit talks with U.S. President George W. Bush at the Camp David retreat Friday night, Korean time, which will focus on the North Korean nuclear standoff, Japanese abductees in North Korea and the Washington-Tokyo alliance. The two will also touch on free trade talks, economic cooperation and global warming.

Japanese media say that attention is on how much the two leaders discuss a proposed U.S. House resolution on Tokyo's World War Two-era sex slavery, which is pending approval.

After two days in Washington, the Japanese leader will tour five Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia. He will also visit Iraq and meet with Japanese self-defense air force troops stationed there.

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