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NEW YORK: Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday took the lead in talks among his Asian-Pacific partners to stand firm against North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programmes, officials said.
"Harmonisation is necessary for resolving the issue," Hatoyama told Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on the sidelines of this year's United Nations General Assembly, according to a Japanese government official.
"But sometimes we need to impose sanctions," said Hatoyama, who took office a week ago, ending more than half a century of nearly unbroken rule by a conservative party in Japan.
Rudd backed Hatoyama's remarks, the government official said, adding the two leaders agreed to work together to monitor other countries carrying out UN economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over its nuclear tests.
"We have to take stern action, including implementation of UN Security Council resolutions," Hatoyama told reporters following his first meeting with US President Barack Obama.
In a separate meeting, Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak agreed to confirm "unshakable relations" among Japan, South Korea and the United States over the North Korean provocation.
Hatoyama and Lee agreed they "will never tolerate North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile development, which is a threat to peace and stability of not only East Asia but the world," the official said.
Earlier in the day, Hatoyama also called on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to enhance cooperation with Moscow to resolve the nuclear row, the Japanese official said.
Medvedev, whose country has traditionally maintained cozy ties with Pyongyang, stopped short of agreeing to Hatoyama's remarks, only saying: "I would like to deepen discussions on the issue in various occasions."
North Korea quit six-nation talks aimed at ending its nuclear programme - which bring together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States - in April after the United Nations censured its long-range rocket test.
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan has vowed to maintain the country's hardline stance against North Korea, which is reviled by many Japanese due to its abductions of Japanese civilians in the 1970s and 1980s to train as spies.
However, Hatoyama has reached out to Asia and some lawmakers in his party have sought greater emphasis on starting dialogue with the North. The regime's number two, Kim Yong-Nam, recently voiced hope for "fruitful relations" with the new government.
- AFP/yb
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