Foreign Minister Taro Kono agreed Monday with counterparts from the U. K. and the Netherlands on the need to maintain pressure on North Korea to attain the
BUENOS AIRES – Foreign Minister Taro Kono agreed Monday with counterparts from the U. K. and the Netherlands on the need to maintain pressure on North Korea to attain the goal of ridding the country of nuclear and other weapons, officials said.
Kono reached the agreement in separate meetings with Boris Johnson of the U. K. and Stef Blok of the Netherlands on the fringes of a Group of 20 foreign ministers’ gathering.
According to the officials, Kono and Johnson shared the view that Japan and the U. K. should step up cooperation in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The Japanese minister also confirmed with Blok the close partnership between their nations in dealing with North Korea as the Netherlands currently presides over a U. N. committee on sanctions on Pyongyang, the officials said.
During the G-20 meeting the same day, foreign ministers from advanced and emerging economies recognized the need for a multilateral approach in tackling global challenges. The ministers discussed multilateralism and global governance as well as fair and sustainable development. North Korea was also high on the agenda ahead of the landmark U. S.-North Korean summit scheduled for June 12.
The ministers discussed how to handle North Korea despite Pyongyang wavering and threatening to cancel the planned meeting between its leader Kim Jong Un and U. S. President Donald Trump. Kono stressed the need for Pyongyang to abolish weapons of mass destruction and missiles in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible way.
