"In particular, we made the decision to appreciate his efforts to pass the first-ever independent sanctions bill in US parliamentary history exclusively targeting the North in February 2016," Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck told a regular press briefing.

On March 21 (local time), Royce also introduced fresh legislation significantly tightening sanctions on North Korea, including authorizing sanctions on those providing the North with crude oil and other related products.

The spokesman also said that the ministry is considering conferring an order of merit to Mike Honda, a former US congressman who fought for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

The third-generation Japanese-American who served in Congress from 2001 to early this year is known for his devotion to raising the awareness of the sexual slavery issue within the US Congress.

In 2007, Honda wrote House Resolution 121 and helped it pass through the House unanimously. The resolution urged Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize for and accept historical responsibility for the atrocity in a clear and unequivocal manner. (Yonhap)