TOKYO, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said late on Monday that Japan had given up pressing the UN Security Council to vote on a resolution calling for sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its missile tests last Week.

    Koizumi said Japan would no longer insist on an immediate Security Council vote on Monday, but hoped that the council could pass as early as possible a resolution, Kyodo News reported.

    Earlier in the day, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso reached a common stance with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a telephone conversation aimed at seeking support for the resolution.

    Aso also garnered support for the resolution from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who arrived in Tokyo on Sunday for the third stop of his four-country Asia tour.

    The Japan-led draft resolution is backed by the United States, Britain, France and several other countries. Enditem