G7 to up pressure on N Korea

GROUP of Seven finance leaders agreed to cooperate in countering North Korean attempts to avert UN sanctions, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said on Thursday.

It is rare for G7 finance leaders to disclose they had met on the sidelines of a G20 gathering, which was a show of resolve among advanced economies to boost pressure on North Korea in the wake of its recent provocations, Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs Masatsugu Asakawa said.

“The G7 agreed on the need to apply maximum economic pressure on North Korea by cutting its revenue source and preventing it from abusing the global financial system,” Asakawa told reporters after attending the G7 gathering.

“We agreed to strengthen cooperation, including steps to counter North Korean attempts to avert United Nations sanctions,” he said.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously in September to boost sanctions on North Korea, after the country conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test that month.

It was the ninth Security Council sanctions resolution over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes since 2006, highlighting the struggle faced to contain North Korea.

At the G20 meeting, Asakawa said Japan explained premier Shinzo Abe’s pledge to keep up Tokyo’s efforts to restore fiscal health and achieve its budgetbalance target.

The G20 meeting also discussed prospects for global growth and potential risks, including repercussions from an expected steady withdrawal of monetary stimulus measures by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, Asakawa said. — Reuters