Group of Seven foreign ministers pledged Monday to maintain "maximum pressure" on North Korea to compel it to give up its nuclear and missile programs, determining that Pyongyang's decision to suspend nuclear tests and long-range missile launches is not sufficient to meet the demands of the international community.

In a joint communique issued after a two-day meeting in Toronto, Canada, the G-7 ministers affirmed they "will never accept a nuclear-armed DPRK" and pushed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, missiles and related facilities in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way.

The ministers acknowledged Saturday's announcement by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's formal name, as "a first step toward full denuclearization, assuming full implementation," but that "meaningful negotiations must imply concrete actions," according to the statement.

They pledged that until North Korea denuclearizes, the G-7 will remain fully committed to countering its sanctions-evasion tactics, particularly through its illicit maritime activities such as ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum and sales of coal and other U.N.-banned commodities.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said, "We fully agreed to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea through continued pressure."

U.S. Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan urged all countries to "rigorously enforce" U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang to force it to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

"International unity is essential as we continue to push diplomatic and economic pressure until the DPRK concedes to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization," Sullivan said.

The ministers met after North Korea announced Saturday it will suspend nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches, as well as dismantle its only known nuclear test site, a pronouncement seen as Kim playing a card ahead of his planned meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae In on Friday and with U.S. President Donald Trump by early June.

The top diplomats of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, meanwhile, pressed North Korea to resolve its abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s "immediately."

Condemning Iran's ballistic missile tests and its unlawful transfers of arms and missile technology to states and non-state actors, the G-7 ministers agreed to uphold the Iran nuclear deal despite Trump's criticism that it is too lenient with Tehran.

"Continued and full implementation of JCPOA is essential to ensuring that Iran's nuclear program cannot be diverted to military use," the statement said, in reference to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

With Trump threatening to withdraw the United States if an agreement to revamp the deal cannot be reached before the May 12 deadline set by the U.S. leader, the ministers discussed negotiations under way between the United States and three European powers -- Britain, France and Germany -- for a "supplemental agreement" as a possible compromise.

The deal was struck in 2015 between Iran and six major powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States under the administration of Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

On the Syria crisis, the G-7 ministers backed the U.S.-led airstrikes on the Middle Eastern country earlier this month, an action that, however, further damaged strained relations between the West and Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"We fully support all efforts made by the United States, the United Kingdom and France to alleviate the extreme suffering of the Syrian people by degrading the Assad regime's ability to use chemical weapons and to deter any future use, as demonstrated by their action taken on April 13," the statement said.

The G-7 urged the Assad regime to cease chemical weapons use and declare and completely destroy its chemical weapons program pursuant to the obligation under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Alluding to China's militarization of outposts in disputed areas of the South China Sea and Beijing's attempts to undermine Japan's administration of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the G-7 expressed their "strong opposition" to any unilateral actions that undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order.

The statement referred to "the threat or use of force, large-scale land reclamation and building of outposts, as well as their use for military purposes," in a veiled criticism of Chinese actions in the South China Sea in particular.

China has overlapping territorial claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which over one-third of global trade passes.

Referring to a Myanmar military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority that has driven nearly 700,000 refugees into neighboring Bangladesh, the G-7 ministers said they are "deeply concerned" that the repatriation planning process and conditions for Rohingya are not sufficiently established.

The ministers pledged to help address human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar, especially in the crisis-hit Rakhine State.

As part of efforts to support refugees, mostly Rohingya women and children, the United States on Monday announced an additional $50 million in humanitarian assistance to support a U.N.-led joint response plan in Bangladesh.