East Asian nations hold talks on environment

During the closed-door talks, they will "discuss global environmental issues such as climate change and problems in the Northeast Asian region including yellow dust," Japan's environment ministry was quoted by AFP as saying in a statement.
Yellow dust -- sand blowing in from China and Mongolia mixed with potentially harmful pollutants -- is a pressing concern for Japan.
Last year it pledged a grant of 793 million yen (7 million dollars) for China to set up a system to monitor acid rain and yellow dust storms.
Researchers say the size and frequency of such storms have been increasing due in part to deforestation, desertification and other environmental problems in China.