Tokyo, Washington reaffirm military alliance against Pyongyang

Tokyo, Aug 19 (IANS) The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford said that the military alliance between his country and Japan was rock solid and reaffirmed the US' commitment towards the defence of its allies.

Meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Friday, as part of his ongoing tour of Asia, Dunford said: "The nature of our bilateral relationship, particularly at the military level, is rock solid".

Abe in turn thanked the US for its support towards Japan against the threat posed by North Korea, Efe news reported.

Before his meeting with the Prime Minister, Dunford held a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, during which they again stressed the importance of defence cooperation between the US and Japan in the face of growing regional tension created by North Korea.

According to a Japanese Joint Staff press release, Dunford and Kawano stated that North Korea's repeated provocations, including missile launches, were totally unacceptable.

Dunford's visit to Japan came after his visits to South Korea and China, on a tour of Asia in which he seeks to reduce bilateral and regional tensions, following escalated rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang last week.

The situation has relaxed over the last few days, especially after Pyongyang announced postponing its supposed plans to bomb the waters near Guam, a Pacific island that houses important US military bases.

During his visit to Seoul on August 14, Dunford met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and said that, though the Pentagon was prepared for a military option, their aim was to use diplomatic and economic pressure to achieve the de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.