Japan's vice defense head in Seoul amid tension over N. Korea

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- Japan's second-highest defense official will meet with
his South Korean counterpart on Tuesday to discuss ways to curb North Korea and
increase cooperation in other security issues, the defense ministry here said.
During his visit from Monday to Wednesday, Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda
will also pay a courtesy call on South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, the
ministry said.
In his meeting with South Korean Vice Defense Minister Chang Soo-man, Masuda is
likely to bring up the issue of North Korea, which conducted its second nuclear
test on May 25, a ministry official here said.
The visit follows the passage of tougher U.N. Security Council sanctions on North
Korea, which also test-fired a series of missiles from its east coast in defiance
of international warnings.
It also comes as U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, Michele Flournoy,
makes an Asia tour that will end with a visit to Seoul on Friday to discuss the
North Korean issue.
"The two trips are unrelated," the South Korean official said, speaking on
customary condition of anonymity, saying that the visit by the Japanese official
was arranged last month.
The meeting between the vice defense ministers of South Korea and Japan is the
first in nine years, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
It is a follow-up to the talks between the defense heads of South Korea and Japan
in April when they agreed to bolster their cooperation in training and other
exchanges, the official said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)