Japan and South Korea agreed to seek tougher sanctions against the Democratic People' s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which conducted a nuclear test Tuesday, in the United Nations (UN) Security Council on February 13.

In a telephone conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, both of them agreed the DPRK's nuclear test violated relevant resolutions approved by the UN Security Council and damaged regional and international peace and stability.

Therefore, they agreed that the Security Council should impose tougher sanctions against the DPRK, and the two countries will work closely on approving such a UN resolution.

The DPRK, despite strong opposition from the international community, conducted its third nuclear test on February 12, drawing condemnations from a number of countries.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2013)