Japan, Russia Agree to Continue Cooperation on North Korea Nuclear Issue

Tokyo and Moscow confirmed their readiness to cooperate on the North Korean nuclear problem, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov held a meeting with head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau Ishikane Kimihiro.

"The sides exchanged opinions on efforts to settle the North Korean issues, including a response to recent nuclear test and rocket launch, and agreed to continue cooperation," the ministry said in a statement.

Inter-Korean tensions escalated sharply after Pyongyang claimed to successfully test fire a hydrogen bomb on January 6 and put a satellite into orbit on February 7, violating UN Security Council resolutions in both cases.

In early February, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said that Seoul would consider any of Pyongyang’s satellite launches as a ballistic missile test.