LAST July North Korea fired ballistic mis-siles into the Sea of Japan.On October 3rd it announced that it would test a nuclear bomb.Relations between the big powers of north Asia are notoriously bad.But this week also brought a ray of light:Shinzo Abe,Japan's new prime minister,declared that his first priority would be to travel to Beijing on October 8th to meet President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao,the first formal summit between the two countries in five years.The next day,Mr Abe will attempt the same with South Korea,stopping off in Seoul to meet President Roh Moo-hyun.
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