Vietnam, Japan reach nuclear accord

HANOI, Vietnam, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Vietnam and Japan said Sunday they have reached agreement on a nuclear cooperation pact.

Once formally signed, the bilateral deal would clear the way for Japanese companies to sell nuclear power generation technologies to Vietnam, Kyodo News reported.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Tan Dung, agreed to the accord during talks in Hanoi following meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Japanese news agency said.

The two leaders said in a joint statement they hoped their countries will sign the treaty soon.