The agreement will outline the manner in which they address new threats, such as those stemming from the US war on terrorism, as well as issues concerning China-Taiwan tensions and North Korea, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

It reformulates a 1996 security statement credited with giving the Japan-US partnership the new role in the Asia-Pacific region in the post-Cold War era, it said.

The agreement aims to facilitate the realignment of US forces in Japan by re-establishing common security goals, the newspaper said.

The two sides hope to hammer out the agreement by February when foreign affairs and defense cabinet members from the two sides hope to meet for security-related talks.

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