nhk spoke with democratic senator jon osoff who will be making the trip with schumer. >> one of the reasons dialogue is so important is to reduce the risk of inadvertent escalation or conflict. >> u.s.-china tensions have been rising. they deteriorated further after then u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi visited taiwan in august last year. but president joe biden has been sending key members of his administration to china in recent months. >>> vice foreign ministers from japan and south korea have held strategic talks in seoul. such meetings had not been held for nine years. japan's vice foreign minister and his south korean counterpart met on thursday. officials in charge of north korean affairs also took part. they discussed the north's recent moves including its efforts to strengthen military ties with russia. the officials condemn what they call pyeongyang's provocations using its nuclear and missile programs. they agreed to work closely with the united states to meet the international community's firm response. they also agreed to step up cooperation with china. government officials from