TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday he hoped the two countries could strive toward building a "constructive and stable" relationship, Japan's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Li also referred to the importance of Japan-China relations during a brief exchange of views between the two, held on the sidelines of a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea in Cambodia, the ministry said in a statement.

In a speech at the ASEAN plus 3 meeting, Kishida reiterated Japan's view that North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches, including one that flew over Japan, were a clear and serious threat to the international community, and unacceptable.

He also called for cooperation among the countries in achieving a complete dismantling of North Korea's ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.

Kishida's visit to Cambodia is the first leg of a week-long tour that takes him to Indonesia for a Group of 20 summit and Thailand for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported Kishida was making final arrangements to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC meeting in Bangkok.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by William Mallard)