Japan's foreign minister called on China to increase cooperation on curbing North Korea's nuclear weapons programme Sunday during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing.
The meeting between Japan's Taro Kono and China's Wang Yi comes as the rival nations aim to improve relations held back by longstanding and seemingly intractable disputes over territory and Japan's war-time legacy.
While ties between Asia's two largest economies have shown signs of warming, China's president Xi Jinping and Japan's PM Shinzo Abe have yet to meet on their own soil.
In remarks at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guest House, Kono praised the progress between the countries towards improving ties, while calling on Beijing to do more to curb Pyongyang's weapons programme.
"I believe it is important not only to discuss issues related to our two countries, but for Japan and China to stand side by side to deal with global issues," he said.
"In particular, the North Korea issue is now an urgent issue for the whole of international society."
Tokyo has been wooing China with official visits and business delegations, but an exchange of state visits has remained a hard sell.
Japan is hoping that will change this year as the two countries prepare to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the signing of a Japan-China friendship treaty.
Relations between the two countries are at a "crucial stage," Chinese foreign minister Wang told Kono.
"There is positive progress, but many disturbances and obstacles remain," he said, adding he hoped that the two sides could work together to push ties "toward the track of normal and sound development at an early date."
A major source of tensions is a long-standing dispute over islands in the East China Sea, known as "Senkaku" in Japanese and "Diaoyu" by the Chinese side.
Tokyo's decision to "nationalise" some of the islets in 2012 led to a major falling out between the two countries, and the fragile relationship has been slow to recover.
Chinese coastguard vessels routinely travel around the disputed islands, a practice that has elicited regular objections from Japan, which controls the region.
Although the issue was not mentioned publicly, it was likely a subject of conversation behind closed doors, as the disagreement heated up earlier this month when Tokyo revealed that Beijing had sent a nuclear-powered submarine to the area for the first time.
Japan is also pushing to host a trilateral summit with leaders from China and South Korea to discuss a broad range of regional issues, including North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
The meeting, which was scheduled for last December, was postponed following the impeachment of former South Korean president Park Geun-Hye.
US sanctions N. Korean, Chinese firms aiding PyongyangWashington (AFP) Jan 24, 2018
The United States slapped new sanctions on North Korean and Chinese firms and individuals that it said support the Pyongyang regime of Kim Jong-Un and his nuclear weapons program. The move comes as the US seeks to choke the flow of goods and materials crucial to North Korea's economy like oil, electronics and metals, and pressure Kim to halt the development of nuclear weapons that threaten t ... read more
Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
| Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution. |
||
| SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Oncecredit card or paypal |
 |
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthlypaypal only |
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense http://ift.tt/2rLKwHc
via space News
No comments: