Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop, agreed in a meeting in Tokyo on the need to adopt a strong U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea in the wake of its recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
"The international community must send a strong message" against North Korea, Kishida said at the outset of the meeting Monday, which was open to the media, adding that North Korea's actions pose a "direct and grave" threat to Japan.
"We stand with Japan and other members of the international community in condemning the North Korean regime for its provocative, destabilizing, dangerous behavior," Bishop said in pledging to work with Japan and other members of the Security Council to urge North Korea to refrain from further provocations.