US President Joe Biden will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Jan. 13 covering North Korea, Ukraine, China's tensions with Taiwan, and a "free and open Indo-Pacific," the White House said on Tuesday.
The two leaders will discuss "a range of regional and global issues including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, and maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the White House said.
The meeting between Washington and its key Asian partner in standing up to China's increasing might comes as North Korea's missile tests and calls for a larger nuclear arsenal worry US allies in the region, reports Reuters.
Kishida announced next week's US visit in a nationally televised New Year news conference on Wednesday.