Japan, the United States and Australia will hold a strategic dialogue in early January to affirm their solidarity in dealing with the North Korean and Iranian nuclear crises, reports said on Sunday.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer are expected to meet in Los Angeles and issue a joint statement, Kyodo News said citing unnamed Japanese government sources.
The trilateral talks reflect the international community's efforts to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions following its first test on October 9 and missile launches on July 5, the Yomiuri and Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspapers also reported.
The three allies will also discuss heightened concerns over Tehran's nuclear program amid reported expansion of uranium enrichment activities, the reports said.
The trilateral meeting in Los Angeles, which follows one in March in Sydney, is scheduled for January 8-9, Kyodo said.
Foreign ministry officials could not be reached immediately for comment.
The three nations are expected to underscore the importance of maintaining the six-party framework to discuss North Korea's nuclear program and urge Pyongyang to return promptly and unconditionally to the multilateral talks, Kyodo said.
The talks have stalled since last November, with North Korea refusing to return to the negotiating table unless the United States lifts sanctions it imposed on a Macau-based bank suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for Pyongyang.
The three nations will also check the implementation of a UN Security Council sanctions resolution against North Korea while assessing the developments in the reclusive communist nation at the same time, the reports said.
The stalled six-party talks include North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.

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