TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday he hoped the two countries could strive toward building a “constructive and stable” relationship, Japan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Li also referred to the importance of Japan-China relations during a brief exchange of views between the two, held on the sidelines of a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea in Cambodia, the ministry said in a statement.

In a speech at the ASEAN plus 3 meeting, Kishida reiterated Japan’s view that North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches, including one that flew over Japan, were a clear and serious threat to the international community, and unacceptable.

He also called for cooperation among the countries in achieving a complete dismantling of North Korea’s ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.

South Korea’s Yoon hopes for co-operation with China, Japan

Kishida’s visit to Cambodia is the first leg of a week-long tour that takes him to Indonesia for a Group of 20 summit and Thailand for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders.

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported Kishida was making final arrangements to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC meeting in Bangkok.