U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Russia to support U.S. efforts to ensure the denuclearization of North Korea. 

The White House said in a news release Tuesday that Trump made the appeal in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that day.

It said the U.S. president "urged Russia to support United States efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and ensure the denuclearization of North Korea." 

The meeting comes a day before the UN Security Council will convene to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches and the possibility of an escalatory provocation by the regime. Russia is a permanent council member.

Russia along with China have in the past urged the U.S. to take a step-by-step approach on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program.