Japan plans to expand cooperation with Russia on North Korea - Japanese official

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Japan plans to expand cooperation with Russia on regulating the situation on the Korean peninsula, President of the Japanese House of Councilors (upper house of parliament) Chuichi Date stated on Tuesday. "In order for Southeast Asia to become a stable and prosperous region, we absolutely need to resolve the problem of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal," he said. "We welcome all measures taken recently, which are aimed at resolving this issue. In Japan’s House of Councilors, we have approved the resolution on North Korea several times, demanding that it should abandon all plans on developing nuclear and ballistic missiles and start the process of full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." "For that, we need joint action and close cooperation of the whole international community, with the interested countries taking the lead and strictly adhering to the relevant resolution of the UN Security Council," Date stressed. "And in this case, the cooperation between Japan and Russia is becoming more important. We hope for further and expanded cooperation with Russia in this sphere." The president of the Japanese upper house of parliament also pointed out the need for the soonest return of Japanese citizens "abducted and held against their will by the North Korean government." "We count on Russia’s understanding and help in the soonest resolution of this problem," he noted. Read more