DPRK nuclear test "unacceptable": Russian, S Korean FMs

During a telephone conversation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his South Korea counterpart Ban Ki-moon stressed that moves of this kind "can do nothing but exacerbate the situation and make the resumption of the six-party negotiations more difficult," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia is part of the six-party talks on the DPRK's nuclear issue, which also involve China, the DPRK, the United States, South Korea and Japan. The talks have been stalled since last November.

Lavrov and Ban "reaffirmed their readiness to do everything necessary to remove existing obstacles to the search for a political solution to the nuclear problem of the Korean peninsula," the statement said.

In an earlier statement by the ministry, Russia expressed "deep concern" and urged the DPRK to exercise restraint.