SEOUL, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- South Korea, Japan and the United States are collaborating to enforce U.N. sanctions against North Korea, trying to stop it from holding more nuclear tests.
The agreement was reached in the South Korean capital of Seoul by the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea after talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, reports Japan's Kyodo news agency.
The three countries warned North Korea against conducting a second test, saying they will not tolerate its possession of nuclear weapons, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters. The North also was urged to return unconditionally to the six-nation talks on its nuclear program.
In his comment, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, who is to become the next U.N. secretary-general, said: "Now as North Korea has tested nuclear weapons, this trilateral meeting is very important. I think this meeting will show all three among the most important countries will send out a very strong message to North Korea."
Rice said: "We want to leave open the path of negotiation. We don't want the crisis to escalate."
Earlier, in Tokyo, Rice also said further sanctions may be considered if North Korea undertakes a second nuclear test but said the U.S. priority is dialogue.
Separately, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported Rice said in Japan the United States is set to prevent North Korea's nuclear materials and weapons from being transferred to other countries.
