Russia's Putin and Japan's Abe tell North Korea to avoid provocative behaviour

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called on North Korea and other countries to avoid behaviour or rhetoric that could increase tensions around Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow after holding talks, Putin and Abe said they had agreed to cooperate closely to try to help defuse tensions around North Korea.

Putin told the same news conference he wanted six-party international talks on North Korea to resume.