Unification Minister Hyun In-taek met with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Thursday in Seoul and stressed the need for close bilateral cooperation in the process of the denuclearization of North Korea.

A ministry official quoted Okada as saying South Korea, U.S. and Japan need close cooperation with China in the denuclearization process as well as amongst themselves, and that the parties to the six-way talks should show a unified front.