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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the US-South Korea nuclear cooperation guidelines add to security concerns in the region.

Lavrov, who was attending the 57th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane, said on Saturday that the guidelines for nuclear cooperation between Washington and Seoul are a source of added concern for Moscow.

“Another element of concern is that the United States recently concluded an agreement with the Republic of Korea on joint nuclear planning,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian state-run RIA news agency.

Lavrov added that Moscow was certainly concerned though he had not been fully briefed on the details of the US-South Korea nuclear cooperation plan. “So far, we can’t even get an explanation of what this means, but there is no doubt that it causes additional anxiety.”

The United States and South Korea have claimed that the guideline of the plan is aimed at responding to a nuclear attack from North Korea.

Last month, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a defense deal to join powers against US imperialism.

The “comprehensive strategic partnership”, which was signed on June 19 during the Russian president’s first visit to the country in 24 years, calls for mutual assistance in the event of an attack by a third country.

The new deal, which emphasizes mutual security guarantees in the event of a third country striking, aims to counter the perceptions of fresh nuclear threats in Northeast Asia in regard to the military cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea. It is expected to take the two countries’ military cooperation to the next level.