HispanicBusiness

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington next week, the government said Friday.

Abe, who took office in late December, will meet Obama on February 22, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.

The leaders will discuss bilateral and regional issues in the Asia-Pacific region, including North Korea's nuclear test on Tuesday, Suga said.

During their telephone conference on Thursday, the two agreed to seek a tougher UN Security Council resolution on Pyongyang.

Obama and Abe will "display enhanced Japan-US alliance," Suga said.

Abe, whose Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the general election in December, had originally planned to meet Obama in late January. But the meeting was postponed due to the US president's schedule.