TOKYO, Oct. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- US Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Richard Lawless said Wednesday Washington has accepted Japan's proposal for the relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa.

    According to Kyodo News, the two sides will hold a "two-plus-two" ministerial level security meeting in Washington on Saturday to formally agree on it.

    The United States "has accepted the most recent Japanese Defense Agency proposal and plan for the relocation" of the Futemma base, Lawless told a news conference at the US Embassy in Tokyo after three days of talks with Japanese senior officials including Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono.

    Lawless, head of the US negotiating team, said the Japanese government has assured the United States that the plan "will be fully executable in a comprehensive and timely manner, thereby allowing us to return Futemma Air Station to the people of Okinawa and Japan."

    While calling the latest development an "important decision," Lawless did not provide details of the proposal that the United States has accepted and did not take questions from reporters after reading out his statement.

    Japan and the United States had been locked in senior working-level negotiations in Tokyo since Monday over their differing plans on where to construct a replacement airfield to relocate Futemma's heliport functions.

    According to Kyodo, Japan called for the new facility to be built mostly on existing land at the US Marine Corps' Camp Schwab with a minimal amount of construction along the coast due to environmental concerns, while Washington had wanted the airfield built in the sea due to noise concerns and the safety of residents under the flight path. Enditem