US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister  Taro Kono at a joint press conference in Washington on August 17 (Photo: AFP/TTXVN)

Moon agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a telephone call on Wednesday that pressure on the North must be raised “to the maximum” to leave Pyongyang with no choice but to seek dialogue. The two leaders agreed to seek stronger UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea following the missile launch on August 29.

The provocative missile launch by nuclear-armed North Korea poses a grave threat to the world, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Japanese and South Korean ministers and reaffirmed commitment to continue putting pressure on Pyongyang. Tillerson spoke to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts Taro Kono and Kang Kyung-wha respectively on separate phone calls on Tuesday to discuss  the latest missile launch. During the calls, Tillerson agreed with the two ministers to continue close coordination on efforts to increase pressure on North Korea to show the regime that its repeated violations of UN Security Council resolutions will only result in condemnation and isolation from the international community.