TOKYO, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Tokyo Wednesday for talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso on North Korean sanctions.
Rice assured Aso the United States was a military ally to both Japan and South Korea should North Korea become more aggressive with its nuclear testing or policy, the Kyodo news agency reported.
En route to Tokyo, Rice said the Bush administration's policy following North Korea's nuclear test on Oct. 9.
"Obviously an event of this kind does carry with it the potential for instability in the relationships that now exist in the region," she said. "That's why it's extremely important to go out and to affirm, and affirm strongly, U.S. defense commitments to Japan and to South Korea."
Rice is to spend two days in Japan before traveling to Seoul and Beijing to discuss implementing sanctions against Pyongyang that were unanimously approved by the 15-member U.N. Security Council last Saturday.
