Japan's foreign minister is urging the international community to maximize pressure on North Korea "by all means available," saying there is no other way to get Pyongyang to curb its escalating nuclear and missile programs.
Taro Kono announced at a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council Friday that Japan has ordered the assets of 19 North Korean entities to be frozen, and he called on other countries to introduce or strengthen sanctions against the North.
Kono said last week's visit to Pyongyang by U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman "only reconfirmed the dire reality" that North Korea "is nowhere near ready" to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, "nor is it interested in returning to a meaningful dialogue."
He urged the Security Council not to backtrack from the demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear and missile programs "in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner."
