Abe to hold summits with China, S. Korea

In bilateral talks with Carter, Han asked the Pentagon chief to reconsider Washington’s rejection of an export license for key technologies from Lockheed Martin to be transferred to Korea to help develop its indigenous fighter jets over the next decade.

Arrangements are in the final stages for the trilateral summit in the afternoon the same day, the source said.

Senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs Ju Chul-ki separately told reporters that the date of the summit talks has not been confirmed, though it is likely to be held around November. 1.

He was responding to the press question about President Park’s visit to Beijing in early September to attend the military parade held by China to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Obama said the US wants to “see China’s peaceful rise”, and also wants China and South Korea to work with the U.S.to “uphold worldwide norms and rules of the road” and put pressure on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the nuclear issue.

“The leaders discussed areas of mutual concern in the Asia-Pacific, including the challenges posed by North Korea, and the importance of continued alliance cooperation and coordination to deter and, if necessary, defend against and defeat North Korean threats”, it added.

Obama has urged Japan and South Korea, both U.S. allies, to mend fences for the sake of regional stability. “We now only have 47 remaining survivors, so literally we really don’t have much time to deal with this issue, and make sure we bring closure to their pent up agony”, she said.

She did not elaborate on what she meant by “progress”. South Korea has called on Japan to ensure that SDF activities will not heighten tensions among neighboring countries.

The move toward state-issued textbooks is the latest in a series of efforts by conservative leaders in South Korea and Japan to shape school history books to reflect their political views, and has sparked fierce criticism from academics and opposition parties.

Nakatani will be the first Japanese defense minister to visit South Korea in four years, and the first since Abe took office in December 2012.

The exhibition is set to open Tuesday for a six-day run at Seoul Airport, a military base on the outskirts of the capital.