(LEAD) S. Korea, Russia agree to cooperate for denuclearization on Korean peninsula

(ATTN: EXPANDS dateline; ADDS more comments and info from 3rd para)

MOSCOW/SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- Top diplomats of South Korea and Russia reaffirmed on Monday that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state and agreed to cooperate for denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, the foreign ministry here said.

The agreement was reached between Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov who held a bilateral meeting in Moscow, according to the ministry.

"Both sides reaffirmed that the North's fourth nuclear test earlier this year, followed by the ballistic missile test, poses a serious threat not just to peace and stability in the northeast region but also to the security in the international community," Yun told a press conference held after the meeting.

"We also reaffirmed that it is important to faithfully carry out the U.N. resolution adopted to impose sanctions on the North in order to induce it into a desirable direction, and we agreed to step up bilateral cooperation," he added.

Lavrov said that both countries will not accept the North's unilateral claim to be a nuclear weapons state, emphasizing that they will "completely" implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270.

"Russia's position is that it cannot tolerate the Korean peninsula turning into a place of confrontation," he said through an interpreter, calling for efforts to seek political and diplomatic solutions.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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