Seoul, Washington vow tighter coordination after suspected North Korean arms transfer to Russia

Kim Gunn, right, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, poses for a photo with Sung Kim, left, U.S. special envoy for North Korea, and Takehiro Funakoshi, head of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, during their talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons in Nagano, July 20, in this file photo provided by Seoul's foreign ministry. Yonhap

South Korea and the United States vowed Monday to work more closely in "sharing information on and joint responses to" any possible military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, after Washington accused Pyongyang of sending military equipment and munitions to Moscow.

Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, reached the agreement at their meeting in Jakarta earlier in the day, as concerns are growing over a possible arms deal between Pyongyang and Moscow following last month's rare summit between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The suspicions have gained more traction after Washington made revelations Friday that the reclusive regime has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia in recent weeks for use in Ukraine.

Monday's talks also coincided with Pyongyang's announcement that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit the North later this week.

"The two sides agreed to coordinate more closely in the sharing of information and over response measures between South Korea and the United States, as we stress that Russia and North Korea must not carry out any military cooperation strictly prohibited under U.N. Security Council resolutions," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a release.

The two nuclear envoys also agreed to "firmly" respond to additional provocations by the North, as Pyongyang has declared a plan for another military spy satellite launch this month after two failed attempts.

The two sides reiterated the warning that the North will "pay the price" in the event of any illegal acts that undermine peace and stability.

They also agreed to continue joint efforts to deter the North's nuclear and missile threats based on the "superiority of overwhelming power," the ministry said.

Kim Gunn is on his two-day visit to the Indonesian capital for bilateral talks with Sung Kim and his Japanese counterpart, Hiroyuki Namazu, as well as a three-way meeting among the three envoys.

On Tuesday, Kim will meet one-on-one with Namazu, before holding the trilateral talks later in the day.

The three envoys last held talks in Japan in July. (Yonhap)