G8 meeting to focus on North Korea

Foreign ministers from wealthy countries urged a close examination of North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programmes today to determine how close it brings the communist state to surrendering its atomic ambitions, Japan's foreign minister said.

Today the ministers from the Group of Eight industrialised countries met in Kyoto, Japan, for a second day of talks expected to focus on nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran, the Middle East peace process, and the furore over Zimbabwe's presidential election.