Japan Aiming to Add Pressure on N. Korea over Missile

Tokyo, Aug. 29 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to put even greater pressure on North Korea to deter the nation from carrying out further provocative actions after its ballistic missile launch over Japan on Tuesday. Tokyo will cooperate with the United States and South Korea for the adoption of a fresh U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution against North Korea. In telephone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it is obvious that North Korea has no willingness for dialogue, stressing that now is the time to further increase pressure on Pyongyang. The Japanese and U.S. leaders shared the view that China and Russia, both allies of North Korea, have roles to play to stop the reclusive state's provocation. At a meeting at the prime minister's office the same day, Abe and U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty, who arrived in Tokyo earlier this month to start his duties, reaffirmed the Japan-U.S. collaboration in dealing with North Korea, informed sources said. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono held separate phone conversations with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. They agreed on close cooperation among the three allies, according to people with access to the phone talks. Kono and Kang confirmed the importance of fully implementing past Security Council sanctions resolutions, including the latest one, which was adopted on Aug. 5 following North Korea's firing of intercontinental ballistic missiles in July, the sources said. They also agreed to aim for the adoption of a new resolution featuring even tougher penalties. A focus in the possible fresh resolution will be restricting crude oil exports to North Korea, according to the sources. "It appears that North Korea is achieving progress in producing smaller nuclear weapons and larger (missile) engines," Kono told reporters. "The threat from North Korea is growing," he added. In phone talks, Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of staff at the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' Joint Staff, and Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, confirmed that the two sides will work together in surveillance against any further provocative actions by North Korea. The ballistic missile launched Tuesday fell into the Pacific at a point about 1,180 kilometers east of Cape Erimo in Hokkaido after flying over the Oshima Peninsula in the southwestern part of the northernmost Japan prefecture. It traveled about 2,700 kilometers. It was the fifth time ever and the first time since Feb. 7 this year that a North Korean missile has flown over Japan. END