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US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Japan today to discuss nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula after securing vital support from China to help defuse the weeks-long crisis.
He is due to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida later in Tokyo, which has deployed Patriot missiles around the capital in anticipation of a missile launch by the North.
Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said he expected the top US and Japanese diplomats to send a strong signal urging North Korea to listen to the international community.
"It is important that we coordinate internationally and firmly tell North Korea that it must give up its nuclear and missile programmes," Onodera told reporters, adding he hoped Kishida and Kerry would issue a "strong message".
Kerry's visit follows an intense day of diplomacy Saturday in Beijing, where he warned Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping that the stakes were high as China's erratic ally North Korea threatens a missile launch.
China is Pyongyang's sole major ally and backer, and is widely seen as the only country with leverage to influence its actions although it is also reluctant to risk destabilising the regime.
"The importance of the visit yesterday really cannot be overstated," Kerry told US embassy staff in Beijing on Sunday ahead of his departure for Tokyo.
"This is a critical time needless to say, being able to speak directly to my Chinese counterpart and try to focus on some very critical issues is of major importance."
State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who is in charge of Beijing's foreign policy, said China was committed to "advancing the denuclearisation process on the Korean peninsula" and "will work with other relevant parties including the United States to play a constructive role".
Kerry said China and the United States "must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula" and were "committed to taking actions".
But neither side gave details of any specific measures, and the top US diplomat said there would be "very focused continued high-level discussions about the ways to fill in any blanks".
Kerry told reporters he wanted to ensure that Saturday's pledges were "not just rhetoric, but that it is real policy".
He predicted he would be making "many trips" to Beijing, hailing what he called "an extremely positive and constructive day... Beyond what I anticipated in many regards".
The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey is to visit Beijing this month along "with other members of the intel community", he added.
