Return to nuke talks

Russia and China yesterday told North Korea its nuclear ambitions were unacceptable, urging Pyongyang to resume talks over its nuclear weapons programme and heed a UN Security Council resolution banning ballistic missile tests.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stepped up pressure on Pyongyang after holding talks in Moscow a day after North Korea defied the United Nations by firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.

"We do not recognise the nuclear status of the DPRK," Wang told a news briefing via a translator, using the official acronym for North Korea.

The North should "fully and comprehensively" implement the UN resolution, Wang said. "At the same time, we will not spare efforts to return to the six-way talks," he added.

Russia's Lavrov said Moscow deemed Pyongyang's behaviour "irresponsible".

Pyongyang has a large stockpile of short-range missiles and is developing long-range and intercontinental missiles.

Earlier on Friday, the reclusive country's official KCNA news agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had watched a ballistic missile launch test and ordered the country to improve its nuclear attack capability by conducting more tests.