Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has singled out North Korea's development of deliverable nuclear weapons as "the most significant geopolitical risk" to steady and broad-based economic growth.
"North Korea is the most significant geopolitical risk to the global economy at this juncture," Aso said in a written statement Saturday to a meeting of the International Monetary Fund's policy-setting panel in Washington, addressing what he views as "non-traditional risks" to global growth.
Aso didn't attend the IMF session because he is currently in the middle of campaigning for the Oct. 22 Lower House election. Masatsugu Asakawa, vice finance minister for international affairs, attended the session in his place.