Japan, U.S. set regular talks on deterrence

Japan and the United States agreed Saturday to set up an official framework to engage in periodic talks on the so-called nuclear umbrella and other deterrence measures, a senior official said.

The move reflects the U.S. intention to ease Japan's growing security concerns in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test in May by deepening discussions on the effectiveness and reliability of the nuclear umbrella, under which Japan is afforded protection.

The United States may also be hoping to defuse arguments among some Japanese lawmakers that the country should arm itself with nuclear weapons.

The agreement was reached at a Security Subcommittee Meeting attended by senior working-level officials from the Foreign and Defense ministries and their U.S. counterparts, including Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs.

"We are going to start some briefings soon, very soon, (in the) next several weeks. But we will continue that in a more formal way later, subsequently," Campbell, who is visiting Japan for the first time since assuming his post in June, told reporters after the meeting.

Meanwhile, on the possibility of holding the six-party talks without North Korea to break the impasse in negotiations on denuclearizing the North, Campbell said the prospects are "not clear."

"The United States has said that we like to see at some point five-party talks in the appropriate circumstances, the appropriate preparation. We are not sure when or if those will occur," he said.

The six-party talks have been stalled since December.