TOKYO —

Japan pressed China Sunday to take a tough stance on North Korea, saying anything but a “strong” U.N. Security Council resolution in response to last month’s nuclear test would send the wrong message to the reclusive communist country.
 
But China supported a “moderate and balanced” resolution, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
 
Foreign ministers of Japan and China met on the sidelines of high-level talks held Sunday by the countries’ economic ministers. Asia’s top two economic powers agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade, technology and other areas.
 
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone told his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, that the U.N. Security Council should quickly send a message to North Korea that its underground nuclear test was unacceptable.
 
Otherwise, Nakasone said, the U.N. would lose its authority and send a wrong message to the North, the official said. Nakasone said Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development is a threat to regional and international peace.
 
Nakasone told Yang that a tougher stance by China, which is North Korea’s closest ally, would be important.
 
Yang did not comment publicly Sunday on North Korea.
 
China and four other veto-wielding Security Council nations, along with Japan and South Korea, are finishing closed-door negotiations on a resolution on North Korea, which conducted the nuclear test on May 25, following its first in 2006. Japan and the U.S. are proposing harsh punishment, with Washington threatening its own financial sanctions.
 
China is taking a milder approach. It criticized North Korea over its nuclear test and subsequent missile launches, but it has consistently rejected economic sanctions that could destabilize the North’s government.
 
In their economic dialogue, Japan and China agreed to launch bilateral talks and cooperation in areas including climate change, energy conservation and technology, Nakasone and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan told a joint news conference.
 
China is Japan’s largest trade partner, while Japan is a top investor in China.
 
The countries also agreed to discuss intellectual property rights—an area of concern for Japanese companies that have found their products, including cars and appliances, illegally copied and sold in China.
 
Japan opposes China’s planned introduction of a new requirement for foreign companies to disclose data related to computer security software in products.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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6 Comments

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  some14some at 07:16 AM JST - 8th June

  Is UNSC still working on non-binding resolution or waiting for NK to test fire few more missiles? Is Japan pressing wrong buttons? Keep urging China... things may workout.

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  smithinjapan at 12:14 PM JST - 8th June

  Pressuring China is about the only thing that can be done, so good. But HOW to pressure China is key -- if it's not something that will help/threaten them economically, it's not going to work.

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  teleprompter at 12:19 PM JST - 8th June

  It is odd how none of the so-called pacifists here ever call for the Kim Crime Family and the Stalinist thugs running the Hermit Kingdom Freakshow to be "brought before the Hague."

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  polarmalik at 10:05 PM JST - 8th June

  It i time every country became friends - making friends is not all that tough, just smile and you will get a smile back - so is the case with North Korea - Japan should extend a hand of friendship instead of going in for Sanctions - surely Kim too would do the same. Japan must always do what Japan think is right for Japan and not what others want them to think...Japan must strive hard to become a real independent and free thinking nation that it was once upon a time. Farakh Malik

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  mushroomcloud at 12:12 AM JST - 9th June

  If North Korea was not the buffer state that it is, China should have long ago pressed these nut-cases to at least revamp their economic model from being state planned to a partial market based one.

  Since this has not been done, NK is the basket case of the world, and a continuous thorn in the US and Japan's side.

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  dragonczar at 09:21 AM JST - 9th June

  Another silly attempts by the Japanese foreign ministry! Sino Japan friendship was no more and Japan was not important to China anyway! The Japanese has no where to challenge with nuclear retailiations or abolishment of article 9!

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