TOKYO, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Japan Tuesday for talks focused on North Korea, Iraq and China.
During his three-day visit, Cheney plans to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, among others. He also plans to visit the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Aso said Cheney's trip is aimed at strengthening security ties between Japan and the United States amid challenges from China's rise and North Korea's nuclear drive.
The visit comes a week after North Korea agreed in six-nation negotiations to start disabling its nuclear programs in return for massive energy aid. Washington welcomed the deal, but Japan has ruled out any funding for the nuclear agreement until the North resolves the issue of kidnapped Japanese there.
Critics say the deal does not address the communist North's existing weapons or plutonium stockpile and suspected uranium-based weapons research program.
