South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has criticized North Korea and Russia for deepening their military cooperation during a foreign ministers' meeting led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASAEN).

According to Seoul's Foreign Ministry, Cho issued the criticism on Saturday during the East Asia Summit of foreign ministers from the ten ASEAN members and other global powers including the United States, China, Japan, Australia and India in the Laotian capital of Vientiane. 

Minister Cho said that North Korea is clearly violating multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and threatening peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region through its nuclear and missile development and military cooperation with Russia.

The top diplomat called on the EAS member states to send a stern and unified message that denuclearization is North Korea's only option, stressing efforts by the international community to block the sources for funding North Korea's nuclear development.

After the EAS meeting, Minister Cho had a separate informal meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and conveyed Seoul's position on the deepening military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Lavrov reportedly reiterated the stance that Russia did not violate the Security Council resolutions in relation to its cooperation with North Korea and that the recently signed treaty between the two nations was defensive in nature.