South Korea and Russia agreed to coordinate their efforts to draw a U.N. Security Council resolution over North Korea's recent nuclear test, the Foreign Ministry said.

On Tuesday, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Hwang Joon-kook, met with his Russian counterpart, Igor Morgulov, in Moscow, where the two sides discussed the security environment following the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, the ministry quoted Hwang as telling reporters after the talks.

As North Korea advances its nuclear capabilities, it is important for the international community and especially the members of the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization -- South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the U.S. -- to show a united response, the envoys noted.

They also agreed that the North's test was a serious violation of past U.N. Security Council resolutions, which is unacceptable, Hwang was quoted as saying.

With the council currently working on a new resolution to punish Pyongyang, Hwang and Morgulov agreed on the need for specific and clear measures.

Morgulov, however, stressed Russia's position that the North Korean nuclear issue should ultimately be resolved through dialogue and negotiations.

Hwang called on Russia -- one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the council -- to help draw a strong sanctions resolution to force North Korea to come to the table for sincere talks about denuclearization.

Russia and China, another permanent council member, have been reluctant to impose tough sanctions on Pyongyang. (Yonhap)