North Korea claimed Monday it had successfully conducted its first nuclear weapons test, drawing a chorus of international condemnation, even from traditional allies such as China.
Several countries, led by Japan and the United States, have called for tough UN sanctions against the impoverished Communist state.
"The situation around the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula must be immediately returned to peaceful lines of negotiations," the press service reported after talks between Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov and Tang Jiaxuan, Chinese President Hu Jintao's special envoy.
North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States have been engaged in talks on the nuclear issue since 2003 when North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Ivanov and Tang Jiaxuan shared their concerns over the nuclear escalation on the Korean Peninsula, and spoke against violations of non-proliferation regulations.
The parties "highlighted the importance of coordinated efforts by Russia and China on the world arena to counter new threats and challenges, and to ensure global stability," the press service said.
North Korea announced it had developed nuclear weapons in February 2005. Negotiators proposed aid and security guarantees for the secretive regime in exchange for a renunciation of its nuclear program.
But the six-nation talks stalled last November over Pyongyang's demands that the U.S. lift sanctions imposed on it for its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.
China and Russia oppose strict sanctions against Pyongyang. China insists that measures being taken against North Korea must not be overly tough, but should aim to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and ensure stability and security in northeast Asia.
Liu Jianchao, the official spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Thursday that China was seeking good neighborly relations with North Korea, and that it would not cut off economic assistance to Pyongyang. "China's economic assistance to North Korea is improving the living standards of its people," Jianchao said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that diplomacy should be the only way for the international community to dissuade North Korea from further nuclear tests.
