In late November, Pyongyang disclosed to visiting U.S. experts an operational uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon, prompting fears that the isolated country has begun developing nuclear weapons.

Lavrov held talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun in Moscow earlier on Monday.

"Lavrov has expressed deep concern over the information that facilities to enrich uranium are being built at Yongbyon and called on North Korea to abide by UN Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement also condemned Pyongyang's shelling of the South's Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea on November 23, which killed four people and led both sides to threaten war.

North Korea has been subjected to several rounds of UN Security Council sanctions since it declared itself a nuclear power in 2005. The state broke off talks with South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia over its nuclear program last April.