Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have agreed to cooperate on eliminating Syria's chemical weapons and on tackling North Korea's nuclear threat and humanitarian issues, a Japanese official said.
During their talks Wednesday in New York, Abe said his administration supports efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons stockpile and that it will assist refugees fleeing the country's civil war. Ban expressed hope for Japan's continued contribution to improving the Syrian humanitarian crisis, the official said.
Syria has agreed to a U.S.-Russian deal to place chemical weapons under international supervision, but the United Nations has yet to draft a resolution amid differences over whether it should refer to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter to allow use of force.