May calls on China to do more over NKorea as she seeks post Brexit Japan deal
UK Prime Minister Theresa May demanded China do more to rein in North Korea over its missile programme as she arrived in Japan to drum up investment opportunities post Brexit.
May said Pyongyang's latest missile test over the Japanese Island of Hokkaido was “outrageous” as Russia and China, both allies of the North Koreans, agreed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the action.
"I want to work with other international partners to do what we all want to do which is to stop North Korea from conducting these illegal activities," she told the BBC.
"These are illegal tests. It is outrageous, it is provocative and they should be stopped."
May held her first talks with her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe as part of a three day trade mission to the Asian country designed to convince business leaders a quick bilateral trade deal can be struck after Britain leaves the European Union in March 2019.
Ahead of the talks, May said she wanted to implement existing EU trade deals that could be refined if required.
“We can’t sign up to a trade deal with Japan or with any other country outside of the European Union until we’ve left the European Union,” she told ITV.
“What we can do is to be talking about that future relationship. That’s what I’m going to be doing here with Prime Minister Abe. I believe we can look at an EU-Japan deal as the basis for a future trade deal between the United Kingdom and Japan.”
“Even if we start on the basis of an existing trade deal that a country has with the EU, it will be up to the United Kingdom and that country if we wish to renegotiate and change those terms in the future,” she said.
Alongside the talks came the announcement that iconic British car maker Aston Martin had signed a £500m trade and investment deal between the UK and Japan.
The deal was announced by the company's president and chief executive, Dr Andy Palmer, who is part of the UK delegation accompanying May.
Aston Martin will buy more than £70m in components from Japanese suppliers including Bridgestone, Denso, Mitsubishi and Yazaki. In addition, it will open an Aston Martin Meta Technology and Luxury Accelerator office in Japan next year.
It will also invest in a flagship global brand centre in Tokyo, a new Aston Martin Japan HQ and further growth of the dealer network across the country.