Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, right, reviews the honor guard with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a welcoming ceremony before their bilateral talks at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

The latest talks among the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China in Tokyo, Wednesday, revealed that Tokyo and Beijing have conflicting positions over how to handle North Korea, analysts said Thursday.

This is mainly because their long-term security interests hinge on the looming diplomatic process of denuclearizing North Korea.

President Moon Jae-in, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang issued a joint statement pledging to work closely together to achieve denuclearization, and also adopted a joint declaration in this regard.

However, Japan and China engaged in a tug-of-war late into the night over the wording of the statement, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials. Their joint statement was adopted around 11 p.m., 12 hours after the leaders made their public announcement that they would issue the statement.

"The adoption of the statement has been delayed as China and Japan had different views on the expression of historical issues," a Cheong Wa Dae senior official said, without elaborating.

The Japanese and Chinese leaders also showed differing views on the North Korean nuclear issue in their bilateral talks. Japan's Abe stressed the importance of the international sanctions while China's Li emphasized the need for the international community's cooperation with the North.

"When sanctions against the North will be lifted is important. We must not provide rewards to North Korea simply for closing its Punggye-ri nuclear test site or not launching intercontinental ballistic missiles," Abe was quoted as saying during a two-way summit with Moon.

"The two leaders agreed the international community, including the U.S., must participate eagerly in ensuring a bright future for North Korea through a security guarantee and support for its economic development when North Korea does completely denuclearize, rather than demanding they unconditionally denuclearize," Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said to reporters.

Regarding the two countries' differing views on North Korean issues, critics point out that China and Japan can change their claims when their needs are met as they have their own interests.

"China is taking a position in consideration of the economic difficulties of their eastern provinces that border North Korea, while Japan is using the situation for their domestic politics," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"There will be no large changes by either side in pressuring the North. Japan will insist on continued sanctions on the North until its denuclearization is complete, while China will partially lift sanctions when the North starts to denuclearize. Japan can lift their economic sanctions when they find a breakthrough on the issue of Japanese abductees."