KYOTO — The Group of Eight foreign ministers ended their meeting Friday in Kyoto by stressing the importance of ensuring that North Korea abandons its nuclear activities.
"We have agreed that firm verification of the nuclear declaration is needed," Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, who served as the meeting's chair, told reporters after the meeting, referring to Pyongyang's submission Thursday of a document declaring its nuclear activities, although it made no mention of its atomic weapons.
"The six-party talks (to denuclearize the North) are now facing an extremely important phase. We have agreed to promote the process tenaciously toward the eventual goal," Komura said.