07 September 2017

News Story: Abe vows to beef up cooperation with India to address N. Korea

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Tuesday to promote defense and security cooperation with India in light of North Korea's intensifying military activities during his talks with Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley.

"Whether North Korea's reckless acts can be stopped or not depends on cooperation of the international community," Abe said at the outset of their meeting at his office in Tokyo. "We would like to change North Korea's policies in close cooperation with India."

The meeting followed North Korea's sixth nuclear test on Sunday, which Pyongyang claimed involved a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile. In July, the North fired two ICBMs.

Jaitley echoed the view, saying, "India has taken a very strong position on the tests conducted recently, in fact we have deplored them in no uncertain language."

The defense minister also said terrorism and proliferation of nuclear technologies and missiles in the Asian region is a "matter of crucial concern for both Japan and India."

Read the full story at The Mainichi