FM confirms upcoming China-Japan security dialogue

China and Japan will hold a new round of security talks later this month, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing that Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao would visit Japan later this month and talk with diplomats and defense officials. The trip will also take him to the Republic of Korea (ROK).

"The Chinese and Japanese foreign ministries have maintained contact and interactions," Hua said, adding that in Japan Liu would hold a security dialogue as well as the regular round of consultation between the ministries.

Liu and Japanese diplomats and defense officials will exchange views on bilateral ties, defense policy as well as regional and international issues, according to the spokeswoman.

The last security dialogue, the 12th round since 1993, was held in Beijing in January 2011. Talks were stalled following the Japanese government illegally "nationalizing" part of the Diaoyu Islands in 2012.

In November last year, China and Japan signed a four-point agreement to ease tensions, to resume political, diplomatic and security dialogues while acknowledging different positions on the Diaoyu Islands. Endi