China, Japan united on North Korea
9 October 2006
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a strong joint line on North Korea Sunday during the first day of an historical summit in Beijing. "North Korea's announcement of a nuclear test cannot be tolerated because it is a great threat to East Asia and the international community," Abe said. A joint statement following the meeting between the leaders said both nations would not accept North Korea testing a nuclear weapon, the South China Morning Post reported. The Beijing meeting is the first in five years between the leaders of the two largest Asian economies and may mark the beginning of a thawing of relations. Beijing refused to invite Abe's predecessor Junichiro Koizumi because of his regular visits to the controversial Yasukuni shrine. The visit to China is Abe's first overseas trip since being named prime minister two weeks ago.
