Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he hopes to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, if the circumstances permit. <br/><br/>Speaking to reporters today, he referred to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and said he wants to attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Games that are also being held in Asia. Abe said he also wants to encourage the participating athletes. <br/><br/>The opening ceremony will take place on February 9th. Abe said he hopes to hold a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the same trip. He added he wants to reaffirm with President Moon the need to work closely with the United States to counter the threat from North Korea, and to maintain the maximum level of pressure on Pyongyang.<br/><br/>Abe said he would also firmly convey Japan's stance regarding its agreement with South Korea on the issue of those referred to as comfort women. The agreement was reached in late 2015 under Moon's predecessor, Park Geun-hye. It confirmed a final and irreversible resolution of the comfort women issue.