Japan, US to enhance cooperation on response to DPRK's nuclear, missile pursuits

TOKYO - Japan and the United States on Monday agreed to enhance cooperation over possible responses to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) suspected ongoing missile and nuclear ambitions.

Talks between Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki and Deputy US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were held in Tokyo on Monday amid rising concerns the DPRK might be preparing to conduct a fifth nuclear test.

"We need to continue to take effective measures against North Korea, always keeping in mind that the country may conduct further provocative acts,"Saiki told a press briefing following talks with Blinken.

Saiki and Blinken, along with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung Nam, will hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Tuesday regarding the ongoing issue of regional defense and security as pertains to the actions of the DPRK, the foreign ministry here confirmed Monday.

On April 15, Japan lambasted what it deemed to be an attempted launch of an intermediate-range"Musudan" missile, although said it was of no threat to national security as the launch had possibly failed.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told a press briefing that there were no inbound projectiles found headed towards Japan and as such there was no impact on the nation's security, while Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida described the launch as"provocative" and urged restraint on Pyongyang's part.

Following being slapped with sanctions by the UN Security Council last month for conducting a fourth nuclear test as well as launching a long-range rocket widely believed to be de facto test of banned ballistic missile technology, the DPRK has launched a number of projectiles of late, some of which have been categorized as missiles.

"Japan and the United States are facing the immediate challenge of the DPRK and its ongoing provocative actions with its nuclear and missile program," Blinken was quoted as telling Kishida during talks between the pair earlier Monday.