G7 agrees to ramp up economic pressure on North Korea - Japan's Asakawa

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visits the Mangyongdae Revolutionary Academy on its 70th anniversary, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang October 13, 2017. REUTERS/KCNA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Group of Seven finance leaders agreed to co-operate in countering North Korean attempts to avert U.N. sanctions, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said on Thursday.

It is rare for G7 finance leaders to disclose they had met on the sidelines of a G20 gathering, which was a show of resolve among advanced economies to boost pressure on North Korea in the wake of its recent provocations, said Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs.