Vasily Likhachyov, a deputy chairman of the Federation Council's international affairs committee, said: "It would therefore be expedient for the UN Security Council and the IAEA to approach the resolution of the North Korean and Iranian 'files' jointly."
North Korea officially announced the tests on Wednesday, including its launch of a long-range Taepodong-2, despite a moratorium on missile tests.
Iran's nuclear program has been a source of major controversy since the beginning of the year, as many countries suspect the Islamic Republic of pursuing a covert weapons program under the pretext of civilian research, despite its claims to the contrary.
Likhachyov said political action should take into account specifics of geopolitical regions, but on the other hand there should exist a universal system of international security through which the links between phenomena such as the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs can be considered.
The Russian senator said both issues implied "a disruption of the international nonproliferation regime" disguised by the alleged necessity to ensure national security and sovereignty.
He also said missile technology was poorly developed in North Korea, which could lead to "unforeseen consequences near Russia's borders."
The senator reiterated that Iran should respond to intermediaries' proposals, while North Korea should return to the six-party negotiations on its nuclear program.
At the last round of six-nation talks in September 2005, that involved the U.S., North Korea, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan, the secretive regime agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but later refused to rejoin the talks until Washington lifted financial sanctions imposed over its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.
