Russian, Japanese foreign ministers discuss security in Northeast Asia

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida have discussed security in Northeast Asia and the timetable of bilateral political contacts. The conversation had been requested by the Japanese side, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The two men exchanged opinion of the state of affairs in the Korean Peninsula and security in Northeast Asia in general after the DPRK declared it had carried out a hydrogen bomb test. Also, they discussed topical issues of Russian-Japanese relations, including the timetable of political contacts," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. North Korea on January 6 declared it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. The governments of many countries and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the act. Over years North Korea carried out three nuclear tests - in 2006, 2009 and 2013. The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Pyongyang. For the past two years North Korea has made no nuclear tests. In retaliation to large-scale military exercises by South Korea and the United States it launched ballistic missiles. Read more