G8 nations reject aggressive North Korean behaviour: Russia

Russia said on Tuesday that the G8 (Group of Eight) was in agreement in rejecting North Korea's recent provocative behaviour and urged all sides to pursue diplomacy to calm down the increasingly tense situation in Northeast Asia.

Speaking before a regularly scheduled meeting of G8  foreign ministers on April 10 and 11 in London, foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia shared its partners' concerns about North Korea.

"We are in solidarity with them as regards the rejection of Pyongyang's current provocative and bellicose line of conduct," he said in an interview with state news agency RIA that was posted on the ministry's website.

"At the same time, we must not renounce political and diplomatic efforts, as any alternative brings the threat of profound upheaval in Northeast Asia," he said.

North Korea has intensified threats of imminent conflict against the United States and South Korea in recent days, and on Tuesday warned foreigners to evacuate the South to avoid being caught in a war.

RIA cited an official at the Russian embassy in Seoul as saying there were no immediate plans to evacuate.

Russia has stepped up criticism of North Korea after the Soviet-era client state conducted a nuclear test in February, which led to new UN Security Council sanctions that both Russia and China, the North's closest ally, approved.

The G8 includes the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.