Telephone Talks between Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

February 12, 2013
Japanese

On February 12, from 9:50 P.M. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held telephone talks with the Honorable John F. Kerry, Secretary of State of the United States of America. The outline of the talks is as follows.

Foreign Minister Kishida expressed strong concern that the recent nuclear test by North Korea had seriously damaged the peace and security of the entire international community. He stated that a new resolution on the matter should be quickly adopted at the United Nations Security Council, and that he wished to closely cooperate with the United States and continue close collaboration among Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea. In response, Secretary Kerry agreed that the nuclear test had damaged the peace and stability of the region, and stated that a new UN Security Council resolution should be adopted in order to demonstrate such actions would bring out consequences. He added that he would like to continue to collaborate with Japan in the future.
Foreign Minister Kishida appreciated that President Barack Obama clearly indicated in his statement a firm defense commitment to the allies of the United States in the region. In response, Secretary Kerry explained that President Obama made it clear that the United States is committed to defending Japan and other allies in the region.

(* The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original in Japanese.)

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