U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have expressed differing assessments of North Korea's projectile launches earlier this month.

In a joint news conference after a summit with Abe in Japan on Monday, Trump denied that North Korea had fired any ballistic missiles or violated United Nations Security Council resolutions.

He added that there has been no nuclear tests from the North over the past two years. 

Abe, in contrast, said the North's “regrettable” weapons tests are a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. He added however that Japan supports Washington’s approach to North Korea issues.

The Washington Post said that by publicly contradicting the Japanese prime minister as well as U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, Trump is backing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.