Sanctions on N. Korea should not be eased: Abe

March 8, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday stressed the need to maintain tough sanctions on North Korea even after an agreement to hold an inter-Korean summit next month.

"Sanctions should never be eased only because the country came forward for dialogue," Abe told the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament. "Concrete action toward denuclearization is necessary."

"We'll raise pressure to the maximum," the prime minister said. He then pledged Japan's efforts to fully implement UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against the reclusive state.

Abe said Suh Hoon, head of South Korea's National Intelligence Service who traveled to North Korea earlier this week to meet the country's leader Kim Jong Un, is expected to visit Japan next week.

"We want to have in-depth exchange of opinions," Abe said. "By asking what kind of discussions were actually held (between South and North Korea), we have to conduct analyses." Jiji Press