G8 ministers meet; Syria and N. Korea top agenda

North Korea's provocations are escalating a tense situation and this ``war rhetoric needs to end,'' Germany's foreign minister said Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G-8 foreign ministers' meeting in London, Guido Westerwelle said all of the group's ministers shared his conviction.

“This war rhetoric is not in any way acceptable and the G-8 has a united position on this,'' he said.

The two-day talks among eight world powers are expected to focus on North Korea and the civil war in Syria. They will also get some celebrity wattage from an expected appearance by a U.N. special envoy for refugees, Angelina Jolie, who has teamed up with U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague to combat sexual violence in war.

Jolie and the U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Zanab Bangora, will meet with G8 foreign ministers and issue a statement.

On Syria, where the U.N. estimates that a two-year civil war has killed over 70,000 people, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Syrian opposition leaders in London on Wednesday to discuss ways to step up nonlethal aid to the rebels.

Britain and France have been pushing for the European Union to lift or amend its arms embargo on Syria so weapons can be sent to rebel fighters.

Hague _ who welcomed the G-8 foreign ministers to London _ said earlier this week that no decisions have been made on whether the U.K. will allow the embargo to expire as scheduled June 1, effectively clearing the way to arm the rebels. He said if the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, there will be a ``strong case'' for amending or lifting the embargo.

Westerwelle on Thursday reiterated Germany's stance against arming the rebels because of the possibility that weapons could end up elsewhere.

``My concern is that weapons that are delivered to Syria will then get into the hands of jihadists and terrorists,'' he said, adding that the arms could then be used against other countries such as Israel. (AP)