WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japan and the United States are set to hold security talks Thursday at which they are likely to agree to increase pressure on North Korea and affirm a closer bilateral alliance as Pyongyang appears to be moving rapidly toward acquiring the capability to deliver nuclear strikes on Washington or New York.
In what will be the first "two-plus-two" meeting of their foreign and defense ministers in two years -- and the first since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January -- the two allies are also expected to seek to contain China's assertive territorial claims in the East and South China seas.
The four ministers' meeting in Washington comes after North Korea test-launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly assessed that North Korea could field a reliable nuclear-capable ICBM as early as next year -- two years earlier than previously estimated.
On Wednesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera met with Trump's national security adviser H.R. McMaster and affirmed close bilateral coordination so as to be prepared for any contingency involving North Korea, according to Onodera.
Referring to Thursday's talks, Onodera said earlier, "As we exchange opinions on a range of issues such as North Korea, the South China Sea and the East China Sea, we would like to further strengthen the alliance between Japan and the United States."
Onodera told reporters Tuesday that he would like to discuss measures to boost deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance, a security arrangement the two countries have called the "cornerstone" of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
The meeting brings together Onodera and Kono, who took up their respective positions in a Cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 3, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
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