Japan wary of closer China-North Korea military ties after Xi visit
Japan is cautious about closer military ties between China and North Korea, following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s latest visit to Pyongyang.The government believes that the security environment surrounding Japan would become more severe if North Korea boosts defense cooperation with China in addition to Russia. It is scrambling to collect and analyze intelligence on possible discussions between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons development at their meeting held Monday.At a news conference Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara declined to comment directly on the impact of the Xi-Kim summit on the situation in Asia while saying that the government is “collecting and analyzing relevant information with serious interest.”
