French Defense Minister Florence Parly and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met their Japanese counterparts Itsunori Onodera and Taro Kono in Tokyo on Friday. They agreed to strengthen security ties and deal with the DPRK nuclear threat. Following ministers' meeting, Le Drian said France and Japan agreed to increase efforts to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table and dismantle its nuclear proliferation program. Earlier Tuesday, Pyongyang said it has a "powerful and reliable" nuclear deterrent to thwart any attack.