 Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono (Photo: EPA/VNA)
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Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono urged related parties to increase pressure on North Korea to halt its missile and nuclear program and deal with its kidnapping of Japanese citizens in the past.
At the meeting, held on the sidelines of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 50) in Manila, the diplomats also discussed financial cooperation and the possibility of a free trade agreement between the 13 countries in addition to Australia, New Zealand, and India.
Also on the sidelines of AMM 50, the foreign ministers of Japan, the US, and Australia discussed the situation in the East Sea and the East China Sea.
The meetings came a day after ASEAN and China adopted a draft framework on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), the first step of the pragmatic negotiation process for the effective and legally-binding COC, which works to maintain regional peace and stability.