G-7 will never accept nuclear-armed North Korea, says Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono

Group of Seven foreign ministers affirmed Sunday they will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea and pledged to maintain “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang until it rids itself of nuclear weapons, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said.

“We fully agreed that we will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea,” Kono said on the first day of a two-day meeting in Toronto, Canada, suggesting Pyongyang’s announcement that it will suspend nuclear tests and long-range missile launches was insufficient to meet the demands of the international community.

“We shared the view that (the North’s announcement) made no reference to the abandonment of (the North’s) nuclear programme,” Kono told reporters. His comment came after US President Donald Trump incorrectly asserted over Twitter on Sunday morning that North Korea had agreed to denuclearisation.

But Kono added, “Compared to North Korea’s behaviour thus far, it marks one step forward. We welcome it as a positive step.”

The G-7 ministers called for North Korea to abandon all weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons, and its ballistic missile programmes, including short- and medium-range missiles capable of hitting South Korea and Japan, according to Kono.

The other G-7 members – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States plus the European Union – meanwhile backed Kono’s call for the immediate resolution of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.