Prime Minister Taro Aso and visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg agreed Tuesday on the importance of passing a powerful U.N. Security Council resolution to impose additional sanctions on North Korea, Foreign Ministry officials said.

Steinberg said he discussed with Aso how to work together along with the other members of the six-party talks to persuade Pyongyang "to return to the path of complete and verifiable denuclearization."

Steinberg agreed with Aso that North Korea cannot be allowed to possess nuclear weapons because it would pose a major threat to Japan's security, the ministry officials said.