Vilnius, Jan 14 (AFP) Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abehas urged Baltic NATO states to support pressure on NorthKorea, as he hammered home his hawkish message thatPyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes pose a globalthreat.
Despite a recent cooling of tensions in the run-up to theWinter Olympics in South Korea, Shinzo Abe has insisted on"maximising pressure" on the North.
"We should work closely together to maintain andstrengthen a rule of law-based international order on NorthKorea, which is now a threat to the global community", Abetold reporters in Lithuania's capital Vilnius.
His Lithuanian counterpart Saulius Skvernelis voicedsupport as did Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis withwhom Abe met earlier in the day in Latvia's capital Riga.
Briefing reporters, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesmanNorio Maruyama said that although the threat posed byPyongyang was "unprecedented", the full implementation of UNsanctions would have "a very strong effect on North Korea."New UN sanctions passed against North Korea last monthban the supply of nearly 75 per cent of refined oil productsto Pyongyang and cap crude deliveries among other measures.
Abe kicked off his visit in fellow Baltic eurozone stateEstonia yesterday, where he also discussed deepeningcybersecurity and economic ties.
Japan is keen to raise its profile in the region as Chinabolsters its ties there.
China is pushing its massive USD 1 trillion "One Belt,One Road" initiative, which seeks to build rail, maritime androad links from Asia to Europe and Africa in a revival ofancient Silk Road trading routes.
Today Abe will head to Lithuania's second largest cityKaunas to pay tribute to Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara,who saved 6,000 European Jews from the Holocaust by issuingvisas to allow them to escape war-torn Lithuania.
Abe is the first sitting Japanese leader to visit theBaltic states and will also visit Bulgaria, Serbia and Romaniabefore returning to Tokyo Wednesday. (AFP)CK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.