The foreign ministers of Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed Monday to ramp up international pressure on North Korea to compel the reclusive country to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

They affirmed it is vital that the international community as a whole "steadily enforce" U.N. sanctions on North Korea, including the latest package adopted Saturday in response to Pyongyang's tests of two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month, a Japanese official told reporters after a trilateral meeting in Manila.

Foreign Minister Taro Kono, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha underscored that China, Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have important roles to play in pressuring North Korea and making U.N. sanctions more effective, the official said.