US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today declared dialogue with Pyongyang was “meaningless”.
And the pair agreed in a telephone conversation that pressure should be maintained on North Korea, a senior Japanese government official told reporters.
It comes as Pyongyang issued a chilling warning to Japan to stop putting pressure on Kim Jong-Un to relinquish his nuclear programme, saying it is a “suicidal deed” that will bring “nuclear clouds” to the country.
A commentary released by North Korean Central News Agency accused Abe of pressuring North Korea purely for political gain.
It said: “Japan’s such rackets inciting the tension of the Korean peninsula is a suicidal deed that will bring nuclear clouds to the Japanese archipelago.
“No one knows when the touch-and-go situation will lead to a nuclear war, but if so, the Japanese archipelago will be engulfed in flames in a moment. This is too self-evident.”
In recent weeks North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test.
And it is feared the tyrannical regime may be fast advancing toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last weekend Washington was directly communicating with Pyongyang on its nuclear and missile programs but admitted Pyongyang had shown no interest in dialogue.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said North Korea had shown no interest in negotiating on matters related to its nuclear weapons program.
Miss Nauert said: “US diplomats have several open channels in which we can communicate with officials within the North Korean regime.
“Despite assurances that the United States is not interested in promoting the collapse of the current regime, pursuing regime change, accelerating reunification of the peninsula or mobilizing forces north of the DMZ, North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization.”
And Mr Trump later appeared to take aim at his friend and ally as he dismissed any prospect of talks with North Korea and “Little Rocket Man” as a “waste of time”.
He said: “Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done!”
During the 12-minute telephone conversation, Abe also offered condolences over the mass shooting in Las Vegas, and told Mr Trump Japan was “100 percent” behind the American people.
Mr Trump will be traveling to Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines next month.