U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has denied suggesting that countries such as Japan and South Korea should go nuclear, while an aide to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Washington on Monday to prepare for a meeting Thursday between Trump and Abe in New York.

Referring to a New York Times article published Sunday, Trump tweeted the same day that the paper said he "believes 'more countries should acquire nuclear weapons.' How dishonest are they. I never said this!"

In March, The New York Times reported that the then-Republican presidential candidate said in an interview that he would be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear arsenals.