South Korea, Russia vow to work against North Korea's nuclear program

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held a summit ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia on Saturday and have agreed to continue to work against North Korea's nuclear weapon's program.

"North Korea has threatened to carry out additional nuclear tests and launch a preemptive nuclear strike while advancing its nuclear capabilities. For South Korea, which lies within minutes' distance of North Korea's possible strikes, it is a matter of life or death," Park said in a joint press conference following the summit.

"We had in-depth discussions about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and reached an agreement that the two nations do not tolerate the North's self-proclaimed nuclear power," Putin said.

The meeting marks the third time the two heads of state have met over the past year while working to expand their bilateral ties.

Park and Putin signed two dozen documents at the summit, including agreements on maritime search and rescue and a memorandum of understanding regarding industry and trade.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a speech at the EEF that Japan and Russia should work together to sign a peace treaty -- the first since the end of World War II.