ZUMA Press Inc
(2009-04-22 21:22:55)
US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso in a telephone talk Friday discussed North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons threat, according to officials in Tokyo.
Obama in the 15-minute conversation also agreed to visit Tokyo in the second half of the year, a plan welcomed by Aso, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.
"President Obama told (Aso) that he highly praised the close cooperation between the United States and Japan over the missile launch by North Korea, and that he would like to continue the close cooperation," the statement said.
"Prime Minister Aso replied that it was good for the United Nations Security Council to jointly send a strong statement without delay" against North Korea's recent rocket launch, the statement said.
The two leaders agreed to work together for a resumption of the stalled six-way talks aimed at denuclearising Pyongyang, it said. The talks also include China, Russia and the two Koreas.
Tensions remain high over North Korea's April 5 launch, which the United States and its allies say was a long-range ballistic missile test disguised as a satellite launch.
Last week, Pyongyang announced it was quitting the six-nation talks on nuclear disarmament and would restart nuclear facilities in protest at the UN Security Council statement.
During the telephone conversation, Aso also voiced his support for Obama's recent call for global nuclear disarmament, the statement said.
Copyright 2009  AFP Asian Edition
