Ignoring repeated warnings from the international community to desist, North Korea is reported to have conducted an underground nuclear test early Monday, the South Korean news agency Yonhap said, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"We demand that North Korea immediately takes steps to return to the nuclear non-proliferation regime and to resume the six-nation talks," Mikhail Kamynin, a spokesman for the ministry, said in a statement. "We will take the same position when we address the UN Security Council."
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the nuclear test in North Korea saying it detected evidence of a nuclear blast.
"Russian instruments detected a nuclear blast in North Korea," the ministry's press service said.
The foreign ministry also said Russia urged restraint from all involved countries.
"We are conducting a scrupulous analysis of the situation and are holding close consultations with all interested parties," Kamynin said.
He said Pyongyang ignored the unanimous will of the international community by staging the test.
"Russia has repeatedly said that no matter what the motivation, such a step would only aggravate problems on the Korean peninsula. It is a threat to the world as well as to the security and stability of the region, and it may damage the non-proliferation regime," Kamynin said in his statement.
The Foreign Ministry also summoned North Korea's ambassador to Russia Monday. Kamynin said Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev, head of the Russian delegation at the six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, met with the North Korean ambassador to Russia.
