Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, agreed Friday to promote security cooperation in response to the rising nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
In a meeting in New York, Kono and Kang concurred on the need to study "various ideas" for deeper security cooperation, but a Japanese official who briefed reporters about the meeting declined to specify the nature of such options.
They also agreed to ensure bilateral and trilateral coordination with the United States in applying maximum pressure on North Korea — in concert with other countries — so as to compel Pyongyang to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.