Japan's PM Shinzo Abe says will work with UK's Theresa May on North Korea, South China Sea disputes

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on Friday to face down threats to international order from North Korea and building tensions over the South China Sea (SCS) by working with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

In a visit to May's official residence, Abe said that Britain was Japan's number one ally in Europe, and that they would work together in face of destabilisation from North Korea's missile programme and a dispute with China in the South China Sea.

"The world is faced with serious threats to the international order... including those posed by the nuclear and missile development of North Korea, and the situation in the eastern South China Sea," Abe said.

"It is extremely significant that the Prime Minister and I agreed that the UK and Japan should closely co-operate on a global scale in the face of this situation."