Japan FM to press G8 to enforce NKorea sanctions

Japan's Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone will this week press his G8 counterparts to enforce UN sanctions to punish North Korea for its recent nuclear and missile tests, an official said.

Nakasone, at the Group of Eight ministerial meeting in Trieste, Italy, will seek to "reconfirm the G8 commitment to implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1874" which the council unanimously passed on June 12.

"After adopting 1874, it's time to implement the resolution. That's important in pressuring North Korea to consider their situation seriously," a foreign ministry official told reporters ahead of the Friday meeting.

The resolution condemned Pyongyang's May 25 nuclear test, tightened an arms embargo and authorised countries to inspect cargo suspected of containing banned items related to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile activities.

Phrases echoing the UN resolution "are expected to be written into the presidential statement" after the ministers' meeting, the official said.

The Japanese foreign minister will also call for greater efforts toward nuclear disarmament by all atomic powers and warn against North Korean attempts to proliferate nuclear weapon technologies, he said.

Nakasone is also due to attend an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris Thursday. He will return to Japan in time for Sunday's summit between Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.