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Aso in US to discuss economy, DPRK with Obama

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-25 00:11

WASHINGTON -- The global economic crisis and concerns about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will dominate talks on Tuesday between President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso aimed at reassuring Tokyo it remains a top US ally.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso walks down the stairs upon his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, February 23, 2009. [Agencies]

Aso is the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Obama took office a month ago, in a signal of the new US president's interest in cultivating warm ties.

Related readings:  Aso apologizes for finance minister's resignation  Aso picks economics minister for finance post  Clinton: Relations with Japan vital for US  Clinton begins Asia trip under DPRK shadow

But it is unclear whether Aso, who will sit down with Obama at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT), will be paying many future visits to the Oval Office.

After a series of flip-flops and gaffes by his government, some in Aso's own Liberal Democratic Party have called for him to be replaced and a poll released this week showed almost four out of five Japanese voters want him to quit within months.

"This meeting is not about the individuals so much as it is about the relationship between the countries," said Ralph Cossa, head of the Pacific Forum think tank at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Cossa said that despite the staunch friendship with the United States, there has been some anxiety in Japan over moves begun in the final years of the Bush administration to engage DPRK as part of an effort to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

Obama's campaign promise of broad engagement with DPRK unsettled Tokyo. Separate concerns center on fears that the Obama administration may be inclined to pursue more protectionist trade policies.

But the Obama administration has sought to ease any concerns about Japan's place in US foreign policy.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made Tokyo the first stop on her Asian tour last week and said the bilateral relationship was the "cornerstone of our efforts around the world."

During the trip, she bluntly talked of a possible power struggle in Pyongyang and said that made it all the more urgent to end the nuclear weapons program of DPRK.

On Tuesday, DPRK said it was preparing to launch a satellite on one of its rockets, which analysts have said would actually be the test-firing of a long-range missile designed to strike US territory. The news weighed on South Korean financial markets.

Economic Crisis

Further deterioration in the world's two largest economies will also be a huge topic for the talks.

US stock prices on Monday tumbled to their lowest levels in 12 years.

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