Russia accuses US of adding to tensions on Korean peninsula

Russia has accused the United States of ratcheting up tensions on the Korean peninsula by increasing military activities, calling for the "vicious circle of tensions" to be broken.

"We suggest looking at the situation in a multi-dimensional way in order to break the vicious circle of tensions," the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov as saying in an interview with Japan's JiJi Press on Friday.

Morgulov said currently "in response to North Korean nuclear missile 'experiments', the United States and its allies take steps to bolster exercises and other military activity, which in turn pushes Pyongyang to new provocative actions."

The remarks came after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned on Friday that military action against North Korea would be "on the table" if Pyongyang elevated the threat level.

The Russian diplomat also called for resolving the issues of the Korean peninsula "through peaceful political and diplomatic means."

Morgulov urged the "creation of a reliable peace mechanism that would create reliable security guarantees for all the countries in the region without exception."

He said talks that are due to take place in Tokyo on Saturday "will be a good chance to set out our approach to these questions to our Japanese partners."