Japan, U.S. to reaffirm cooperation on North Korea, China

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected to reaffirm bilateral cooperation in dealing with North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches during their talks Monday, according to a Japanese government official.

The meeting, on the sidelines of a Group of Seven foreign ministerial meeting in the central Japan town of Karuizawa, will also touch on the regional situation involving China, as well as the Japan-U.S. alliance’s deterrence capabilities.

“We would like the ministers to affirm the alignment between Japan and the United States on a range of issues,” the official said.

The security situation in the Indo-Pacific region remains tense, with China continuing its military buildup and pushing its territorial claims in the East and South China seas, and North Korea continuing to test missiles.

North Korea on Thursday launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, with the country’s official media saying it was a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile propelled by a three-stage rocket system.

Japan, the United States and South Korea have condemned Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development programs, and agreed to step up efforts to realize real-time information sharing about North Korean missiles.

The United States, meanwhile, has reiterated its “ironclad commitment” to defending its two closest allies in Asia with the full range of its defensive capabilities.

The countries’ trilateral cooperation has strengthened since a South Korean proposal to resolve a dispute with Japan over wartime labor compensation.

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