Tokyo and Seoul in sanctions call

The new sanctions include inspections of suspect North Korean ships

Japan and South Korea have called for the latest United Nations sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear activities to be applied strictly.

New sanctions agreed by the UN Security Council this month include inspections of North Korean ships, a wider ban on arms sales and financial measures.

North Korea has said any search of its ships will constitute an act of war.

Its recent nuclear and missile tests, and aggressive language, have caused widespread concern in the region.

Eyes on China

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made their call for greater rigour on applying sanctions when they met in the Japanese capital Tokyo.

We confirmed that we will never tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea Lee Myung-bak South Korean president

"North Korea's nuclear and missile developments are serious security threats and absolutely cannot be accepted," Mr Aso told reporters.

Mr Lee said the implementation of UN Resolution 1874 would show the North would "gain nothing by obtaining nuclear weapons".

"During the talks, we confirmed that we will never tolerate a nuclear-armed North Korea," he said.

The two men added that they were united in supporting a return to the six-party talks which offered North Korea aid in exchange for abandoning its nuclear programme.

The talks, which also involved China, Russia and the US, made halting progress until April, when North Korea pulled out.

Japan and South Korea would like China to put greater pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, the BBC's Roland Buerk reports from Tokyo.

China has favoured cautious diplomacy, wary of any move that might cause the North's government to collapse and send refugees streaming across its border, our correspondent says.