LECCE, Italy - The United States and Japan have agreed to tighten sanctions against North Korea, a senior Japanese official said after a meeting between finance ministers from the two countries on Friday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano agreed that we must tighten sanctions against North Korea, the senior Japanese finance ministry official told reporters at a Group of Eight (G8) meeting.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Friday expanding sanctions against North Korea over its May 25 nuclear test, carried out in defiance of a resolution passed in 2006.

The United States, Japan and Korea had pushed for a tougher resolution that included more binding language, such as requiring all countries to comply with inspection of ships using South Korean ports and to conduct such inspections.

The Japanese official also said Yosano said he was extremely concerned about North Korea's nuclear test.

(Reporting by Natsuko Waki; writing by Jo Winterbottom)

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