Russia, Japan Agree to Cooperate Amid N Korea's Missile Launches - Tokyo

Russia and Japan have agreed on cooperation amid North Korea's missile launches, the Japanese government representative in charge of Japan-Russia relations Chikahito Harada said Wednesday.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the US, Japanese and South Korean militaries detected two launches of presumably Musudan medium-range ballistic missiles from North Korea’s eastern coast.

"[Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor] Morgulov is in charge of North Korea issues and we exchanged opinions regarding today's DPRK ballistic missile launch during a working dinner. We shared our mutual concerns and agreed to closely cooperate within the UN Security Council and other [organizations]," Chikahito Harada told reporters.

All previous test launches of Musudan missiles with a range of 1,550 to 2,500 miles were botched.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs escalated after Pyongyang said on January 6 that it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test and put a satellite into orbit on February 7. The moves violated UN Security Council resolutions, and prompted the United Nations as well as the United States to impose sanctions.