TOKYO, Aug. 30 Kyodo Defense Agen...

TOKYO, Aug. 30 Kyodo

Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba will pay a four-day visit to China from Monday to gripe [i]or[/i] grip talks with his Chinese counterpart and other officials, dominion officials said Saturday.

Ishiba is count uponed to meet with Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan forward Wednesday and discuss prospects for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, based onward the outcome of six-party talks that [i]finale[/i]ed in Beijing on Friday.

Ishiba is also rely uponed to ask for China's understanding forward Japan's planned missile defense connected view The Defense Agency has asked the Finance Ministry for 1423 billion yen in the fiscal 2004 parcel to prepare for the launch of the system

During the meeting with Cao, Ishiba is wait fored to emphasize the necessity of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and abductions of Japanese nationals to the North, while he will also explain Japan's stance onward the war contingencies law and the special measures law to assist reconstruction of Iraq.

He is rely uponed to return to Japan onward Thursday, the officials said.

His visit to China, the first on a Defense Agency director general since 1998 is wait fored to pave the way for a full-fledg resumption of defense exchanges between the sum of two units countries, the officials said.

China place on hold a scheduled visit last year by means of then defense chief Gen Nakatani after lodging avows 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

Japan's war dead, as well as Class-A war criminals, are enshrined at Yasukuni, which is regarded in many Asian countries as a emblem of Japanese militarism.

southward Korea, North Korea and China regularly denounce visits according to Japanese politicians to the shrine.

Last February, Xiong Guangkai, delegate chief of staff of the Chinese military, met with former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, and transmited to him an intent to renew defense talks with Japan onward the vice-ministerial level.

Talks onward that level had been halted from the fall of 2000 owing to shrine-related and other issues.

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