MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said he strongly opposes the appearance of new members of the so-called nuclear club.

"We are against the extension of the nuclear club. Otherwise the situation will get out of control," Medvedev said in an interview with Russia's Channel 1 to be broadcast on Sunday.

Medvedev also reiterated the necessity to build a nuclear-free world.

"The world without nuclear weapons is an ideal which should be on our agenda," he said.

Russia, the United States, France, China and the United Kingdom are considered to be nuclear weapons states (NWS), an internationally recognized status conferred by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which came into force in 1970.

While India and Pakistan both possess nuclear arsenals, they are non-signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is also widely believed to possess nuclear weapons.

North Korea conducted a second nuclear test in May 2009. The U.S. and some Western powers accuse Iran of attempting to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its nuclear program is aimed at generating nuclear energy for civilian purposes.