Japan agrees with U.S. that North Korea’s weapons ‘not permissible’

The US State Department said Wednesday that it is testing new media coverage rules as its boss Rex Tillerson traveled to Asia with no accredited reporters in tow – a break with 50 years of tradition.

Staunch US ally South Korea, which Mr Tillerson visits on Friday, is rudderless following the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye, who had been embroiled in a political scandal. “China is a major source of economic trade and activity with North Korea”. “On North Korea, we share stance that we can not absolutely accept Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programs”.

The group has been in talks with Tillerson’s deputies “about a variety of issues related to media access”, the statement said, “and we welcome the State Department’s pledge to address our concerns in the very near future”. The trip is aimed at preparing for the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 13, 2017 shows a test firing of a surface-to-surface medium- and long-range ballistic missilePukguksong-2 on February 12, 2017.

“We remain committed to a USA foreign policy that advances the security and prosperity of the American people”, the spokesperson told Politico.

The U.S.is in the midst of a policy review and lacks numerous personnel necessary to conduct the review thoroughly, so it will take much longer than next week to find a solution. Beijing will reiterate its claim to sovereignty in the South China Sea where it’s reclaiming islets and say it hopes to cooperate with four Southeast Asian countries that claim the same tract of water. “It was because of budget constraints, and time constraints, and space constraints – then there was a seat made available … and now you say this is about an effort to include a broader representation of US media”.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, right, and Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, left, walk together to their bilateral meeting at the Foreign Ministry’s Iikura Guesthouse in Tokyo, Thursday, March 16, 2017. Amid continued missile tests from North Korea, the USA and ally South Korea have carried out military drills, drawing criticism from Kim Jong Un, the North’s authoritarian leader. They also discussed the situation in the East and South China seas, where Beijing has been increasingly assertive. China will want to know what that means for Sino-U.S. business relations. He is scheduled to meet the foreign minister, as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – who Trump has already met, and “had a great time” with. But how can Tillerson get Beijing on the same page as the U.S.to diffuse the threat?

This is the second time in as many weeks that China has floated this plan.

Kishida, meanwhile, thanked Tillerson for United States backing.

China, Mr Tillerson’s last stop, is alarmed by the prospect of war on the Korean Peninsula.

China tightened the screws last month by banning coal imports from the North for the rest of this year, thus severing a vital lifeline.