Nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States, and Japan will meet in Seoul on January 18 to discuss matters relating to the DPRK's military activities and relations with Russia, according to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The meeting will be held in the attendance of South Korea's representative for peace in the Korean Peninsula Kim Gunn, US Department of State Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Jung Pak, and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Hiroyuki Namazu. 

According to South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lim Soo-suk, the agenda would cover recent tensions in the Korean Peninsula, the DPRK's recent military activities, and its enhanced concurrences with Russia, as well as actions to be taken in retaliation, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.

Russia and the DPRK know their foe

This comes as a DPRK envoy visits Russia to further enhance bilateral relations between both countries and fight one 'common enemy'. 

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "North Korea is our neighbor, our closest neighbor, our partner with whom we are developing and intend to further develop partnership in all areas ... Dialogue with North Korea will continue at all levels."

He indicated that there would be a meeting between Vladimir Putin, Russia's President, and North Korea's foreign minister where fruitful and intense negotiations would also take place. 

DPRK confirms test-firing of solid-fuel mid-range ballistic missile

In terms of military exercises conducted by the DPRK, it was reported that the DPRK successfully test-fired an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile on Monday, categorizing the launch as part of its "regular activities for developing powerful weapon systems."

The missile was loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead when it was fired off Sunday afternoon, according to the outlet.

The test was meant to verify "the gliding and maneuvering characteristics" of the warhead and the "reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines," KCNA state news agency said.

It added that the test-firing "never affected the security of any neighboring country and had nothing to do with the regional situation."

The test came just days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the country's tense maritime border with South Korea, which prompted counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some South Korean border islands.

Read more: US claims Russia obtained DPRK ballistic missiles