US President Joe Biden will hold talks with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on January 13 to discuss 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.
Kishida plans to discuss Tokyo's new security policy, which saw the unveiling in December of Japan's biggest military build-up since World War Two, Japan's Yomiuri daily newspaper reported last week, citing multiple unidentified Japanese government sources.
The White House said Biden will reiterate his full support for Japan’s recently released National Security Strategy.
"The leaders will celebrate the unprecedented strength of the US-Japan Alliance and will set the course for their partnership in the year ahead," said the statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
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