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Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Russian deputy FM discusses situation on Korean Peninsula with Japanese diplomat

The sides exchanged opinions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and security situation in Northeast Asia after the nuclear test conducted by North Korea

© EPA/KIM CHUL-SOO

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Russian, Japanese foreign ministers discuss security in Northeast Asia

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and head of Japan’s delegation to six-party talks on the nuclear problems of the Korean Peninsula, director general of Japanese Foreign Ministry’s department of Asia Pacific Region Kimihiro Ishikane have held telephone talks on the situation in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The conversation took place on the initiative of the Japanese side, the foreign ministry said. "The sides exchanged opinions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and security situation in Northeast Asia after the nuclear test conducted by North Korea," the ministry added.

North Korea announced on January 6 that it had successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The country’s government said in a statement circulated by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the test had had "no adverse impacts on the environmental situation." Now, according to the statement, North Korea "possesses the strongest deterrent forces."

North Korea previously conducted three nuclear tests: in 2006, in 2009 and in 2013. Following these tests, the United Nations Security Council imposed various sanctions on Pyongyang. In the past two years, North Korea refrained from nuclear tests limiting itself to ballistic missile launches as a response to the US-South Korea large-scale military drills.

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