Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, on Monday called on China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to make positive contributions to regional peace and stability.
Xi made the remarks during his talks with Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, in Pyongyang.
Xi arrived in the DPRK capital earlier on Monday to begin a two-day state visit at the invitation of Kim, marking his first trip to the DPRK in seven years.
"I am very pleased to visit the beautiful city of Pyongyang once again after seven years. I feel especially warm and familiar. I am ready to work with you, General Secretary, to take this visit as an opportunity to strengthen top-level planning and strategic guidance for China-DPRK relations in the new era, keep bilateral relations advancing with the times and achieve greater progress in bilateral ties, so as to better benefit the two countries and peoples, and make positive contributions to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world," Xi told Kim.
Kim noted that Xi's current trip to the DPRK marks his first overseas visit of the year, which he said stands as a testament to the friendly ties between the two sides.
"General Secretary Xi, your choice of Pyongyang for the first overseas trip this year fully reflects the great importance you attach to DPRK-China relations and the profound friendship between the two countries, which is a tremendous encouragement to the DPRK side. We believe that this visit once again clearly demonstrates that the DPRK and China have always stood on the right side of history -- the side of autonomy and justice. It also shows the world that no matter how the international situation may evolve, the time-tested DPRK-China relations remain unbreakable," said Kim.
Xi calls on China, DPRK to make positive contributions to regional peace, stability
Japan's ongoing push to revise its pacifist constitution and expand military buildup escalate regional tension, warned Japanese lawyer Kyoko Oe, who urged adherence to pacifism and vigilance against the government's dangerous moves.
Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office last October, the Japanese government has renewed its push to revise the country's pacifist constitution and accelerated a series of military expansion measures, including increasing defense spending, deploying long-range missiles, and easing restrictions on arms exports.
Speaking on the dangerous policy shifts, Oe criticized the Takaichi administration for bypassing public will.
"We believe that when Japanese citizens are not demanding constitutional reform, pushing it forward through a parliamentary majority clearly violates the principle of popular sovereignty and the obligation to respect the constitution. Moreover, the content of the revision itself is extremely dangerous. [The government] is attempting to change pacifist principles of the Japanese constitution -- the most fundamental part -- and abandon basic concepts, including the renunciation of war and not maintaining military forces," said Oe.
The Japanese government has aggressively accelerated war readiness even under the current constitution, said Oe, adding that amending it will grant the Self-Defense Forces even greater freedom of action at the constitutional level.
"If the constitution is amended, the Self-Defense Forces will gain greater freedom of action at the constitutional level than they have now, and legal interpretations will develop in that direction. Even while the current constitution remains effective, the Japanese government has already forcibly advanced war preparations. For example, manufacturing long-range missiles, which were previously considered unacceptable to possess, and deploying them domestically; conducting joint war games and military exercises with the United States; and massively manufacturing and exporting weapons overseas," said Oe.
The lawyer also criticized Takaichi's provocative remarks on China, saying they have sharply strained bilateral ties and undermined peace and stability in the region.
"We believe that due to Takaichi's remarks made last November, China-Japan relations have become very tense and are deteriorating. Legal experts believe that Takaichi's remarks contain multiple obvious errors. Takaichi should frankly retract the relevant remarks and apologize. Only by building mutual trust with neighboring countries can we maintain our peace, and the peace of East Asia and even the peace of Asia. We believe that what the Takaichi administration is doing runs completely counter to what the Japanese people truly wish to achieve," Oe said.
Japan's constitution revision, military buildup fuel regional tensions: lawyer
