Ishikawa Gov. Masanori Tanimoto said Thursday that he "retracts" his comment of the previous day that "We must drive the people of North Korea to starve to death by cutting off food (supplies)."

The governor had made the remark when asked by one municipal head at a gathering about North Korea possibly targeting a nuclear power plant on the Sea of Japan coast with a missile, according to a participant.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tanimoto denounced North Korea for its repeated test-firing of ballistic missiles, one of which fell into the sea off the coast of Ishikawa. "It's meaningless unless we impose the kind of sanctions that would make the (North Korean) people feel pain," he added.

Then on Thursday, Tanimoto retracted the remark, citing the importance of "respecting human lives." But he said sanctions imposed on North Korea must be "effective."

"We need to help create a situation where the regime would collapse from within even though such a situation may impact the people of North Korea," he said.