South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reaffirmed Wednesday the necessity of maintaining current international penalties on North Korea while urging the communist state to return to talks on its denuclearization.
"It is better to resolve the issue through dialogue, but we need to keep pressure on the North through international cooperation if necessary," the Japanese leader was quoted as telling Lee.
Seoul's presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said the two leaders agreed to continue implementing U.N. Security Council sanctions while also working to encourage North Korea to return to talks aimed at ending its nuclear ambition.
The U.N. sanctions were imposed shortly after the North conducted its second atomic test in May, despite its 2005 agreement at the six-party talks to dismantle its nuclear programs.
North Korea in April declared its withdrawal from six-way denuclearization talks, but recently said it was willing to return to bilateral or multilateral negotiations on its nuclear programs.
Lee said Pyongyang's recent conciliatory gesture was largely prompted by the effect of the U.N. sanctions, according to his top secretary for public relations, Lee Dong-kwan.
"Basically, the North is not showing any sincere signs of willingness to give up its nuclear ambition," President Lee was quoted as saying.
The Lee-Hatoyama meeting was preceded by Lee's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao earlier Wednesday, also held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. China hosts the six-party talks that also involve South Korea, the United States, Japan and Russia.
Lee and the Japanese leader also discussed ways to improve Korea-Japan relations as Wednesday's meeting marked the first summit between the two since Hatoyama took office earlier this month.
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