Japan, S. Korea Foreign Ministers reaffirm pressure policy on North

March 18, 2018

Washington- Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers underscored on Saturday the importance of close cooperation in pressuring North Korea into taking concrete action toward scrapping its missile and nuclear programs.

At a meeting in Washington, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told his South Korean counterpart, that Japan, the United States and South Korea should continue putting maximum pressure on North Korea.

Echoing Kono, Kan said such pressure is necessary to have Pyongyang take concrete steps toward dismantling its missile and nuclear programs.

For verifiable and irreversible denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency will be indispensable, Kono said, adding the Japanese government is ready to extend financial support for the inspections.

When Kono called on Seoul to take up the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese nationals at the upcoming summit of South Korean President of Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un late next month, Kan vowed her country's close cooperation for resolving the humanitarian problem. Jiji Press