Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will seek a consensus with his Group of Eight counterparts on urging North Korea to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and to comply with U.N. resolutions banning nuclear and missile tests at a meeting this week in London.

The two-day G-8 meeting of foreign ministers from Wednesday comes as the United States and European countries have focused attention on North Korea, with Pyongyang making almost daily headlines with its bellicose rhetoric and apparent preparations for a fourth nuclear test.

Kishida left for the Netherlands, the first leg of his trip, Monday morning.