Japan PM discusses North Korea’s nuclear programme during meeting with Cuba’s Fidel Castro

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Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a meeting in Havana. Photo: AP

Published: 2:01pm, 23 Sep 2016Updated: 10:14pm, 23 Sep 2016

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Communist-ruled Cuba, called for a strong and unified international response to North Korea’s nuclear programme in rare talks with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Thursday.

Cuba is one of North Korea’s few diplomatic allies, along with China, and a fellow member of the non-aligned movement formed in 1961 by states wanting to avoid siding with the United States or the Soviet Union.

The PM pointed out the necessity [for] the international community to respond to this rigorously in unity

Japanese foreign ministry spokesman

North Korea has been testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate this year and claims it has mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, a worrying prospect for neighbours South Korea and Japan.

“The PM pointed out the necessity [for] the international community to respond to this rigorously in unity,” Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Yasuhisa Kawamura told reporters after Abe’s 70-minute meeting with Fidel Castro, the predecessor and elder brother of Cuban President Raul Castro.

Fidel Castro visited the site of the world’s first atomic bombing Hiroshima in 2003 and left a message in the guestbook saying “May such barbarity never happen again”. He told Abe the issue of Pyongyang’s nuclear programme should be resolved peacefully through dialogue, Kawamura said.

Abe’s visit to the Caribbean island is one of a slew by Western leaders since it began normalising ties with the United States nearly two years ago. US President Barack Obama visited Cuba in March. However, it is unusual for a Western leader to meet Fidel Castro, who usually only sees close allies.

The Japanese Prime Minister met Raul Castro later in the evening to discuss how Japan and Cuba could deepen bilateral relations, in particular in the commercial and economic spheres, Cuban state media reported.

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