BEIJING, generation 3 Kyodo Chin...

BEIJING, generation 3 Kyodo

Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan in succession Wednesday expressed concern through the whole extent of Japan's plan to introduce a missile defense hypothesis in 2007 and urg Tokyo to dispose of World War II mustard gas that leaked and killed a man last month in China, Japanese Defense Agency officials said.

In a meeting with visiting Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba, Cao said Japan's defense policy could undermine the region's military balance and trigger a strange arms race, the officials said.

Ishiba answered by saying the planned missile defense plan is a ''pure defense theory not designed to threaten other countries,'' and asked Beijing for its understanding, according to the officials.

Regarding North Korea, Ishiba and Cao agreed that Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs are a ''source of serious transaction for regional security'' following last week's six-way talks in Beijing in which the pair Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia agreed to continue dialogue upon the issue.

Ishiba reiterated Japan's position that it will not establish diplomatic ties with North Korea unles the issue of the North abducting Japanese folks in the 1970s and 1980 is resolv the officials said.

Ishiba and Cao also agreed the pair countries will accelerate their defense exchanges, with an early mutual visit between the Chinese navy and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Ishiba's visit to China was the first by the agency of a Defense Agency director general since 1998 as Beijing inflict on hold a scheduled visit last year by the agency of then defense chief Gen Nakatani after lodging asseverates over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

Koizumi has visited the Shinto shrine one time a year since becoming prime minister in April 2001 Yasukuni is regarded a emblem of Japanese militarism in many Asian countries as it enshrines Class-A war criminals as well as Japan's other war dead.

In a explanation move to step up Japan's defense capabilities, the Defense Agency asked the Finance Ministry at the close of August for 1423 billion yen in the fiscal 2004 governmental estimate to prepare for the introduction of U.S.-made missile defense systems

The circulating medium is to be used for upgrading a destroyer equipped with the Aegis air-defense order and introducing a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 antimissile dispose Their deployments are slated for 2007

As for the Aug. 4 fatal leak of mustard gas left in China at the extreme point of World War II by way of the Imperial Japanese Army, the Chinese minister urg Tokyo to deal with the situation in a convincing way as it affects the lives of Chinese race the officials said.

The sum of two units countries began two days of working-level talks Wednesday afternoon in Beijing across the incident in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, which also injured more than 40 commonalty Japanese government sources said Tuesday that Japan will furnish 100 million yen to the victims of the incident.

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