The prime ministers of South Korea and Russia agreed on Tuesday to support and faithfully implement a U.N. resolution on further sanctioning North Korea over its nuclear test.
The agreement was made during talks between South Korea's Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook and her Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov in Seoul.
The two officials also urged North Korea to fully comply with the resolution and not take any action to exacerbate the situation.
Washington confirmed that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test last Monday with a yield of less than one kiloton.
Over the weekend, the U.N. adopted a resolution imposing wide-ranging sanctions against the communist state for this action.
In a news conference that closely followed the talks, Fradkov called the test "a serious threat to the nuclear non-proliferation system" and a "huge threat to regional security."
"Our common goal is to have North Korea swiftly return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty," he said.
The six-way talks, aimed at peacefully defusing tension over North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions, have been stalled since November, with Pyongyang protesting U.S. accusations that the North is counterfeiting American dollars and trafficking in contraband. The negotiations also involve South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.
The Han-Fradkov meeting came after U.S. news media reported that the United States has detected fresh signs that Pyongyang may be preparing for a second nuclear test.
"We believe North Korea will not and should not conduct another nuclear test," the Russian official told reporters.
"If North Korea conducts a second nuclear test, this would further worsen the situation," he warned.
Fradkov denied media reports that Pyongyang informed Russia of its plans for the first test about two hours before it was conducted.
"We didn't receive any information from North Korea before the nuclear test," said the Russian official, who arrived here earlier in the day for a two-day visit.
"We obtained any related information (ourselves)," he added.
The two sides also agreed to develop a comprehensive partnership and work closely in dealing with terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of massive destruction, and other threats to world peace.
They attended the signing of five agreements, including one on the protection of space technologies and another on working together in gas development, after the talks.
Before the talks opened, the Russian official paid a visit to South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to exchange views about Pyongyang's nuclear test. They agreed to closely coordinate their responses to North Korea's provocative actions during the meeting, Roh's office said.
On Monday evening, Roh and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked by telephone and agreed that efforts to solve the North Korean problem through dialogue should not be given up.
Fradkov is the second Russian prime minister to visit South Korea since the two countries opened formal ties in 1990, following Viktor Chernomyrdin in 1995.
Seoul, Oct. 17 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea, Russia prime ministers agree to obey U.N. resolution on N. Korea |
