TOKYO: Visiting United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon told a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that he would “spare no effort” to achieve a nuclear-free North Korea.

“I will spare no effort in facilitating the achievement of verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” Ban told a news conference after holding talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. “North Korea’s ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests are a serious threat to the international community,” Aso told the news conference.