Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday that Japan will press Iraq to accept U.N. inspectors and destroy its weapons of mass destruction, a Japanese official said.
Kawaguchi, who is scheduled to meet Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri on Saturday, said Japan, along with the U.S., will promote diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.
While acknowledging the importance of diplomatic efforts through the United Nations, Powell said it is necessary for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a new resolution that will force Iraq to comply.
Simply adopting resolutions will merely be repeating earlier measures, Powell was quoted as saying in the 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.