South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told a parliamentary meeting on Thursday that her ministry will work hard to encourage China and Russia to use their influence to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.

She vowed to keep the "moment" strong for President Moon Jae-in's policy direction on the North and continue efforts to establish a peace regime in tandem with progress in denuclearization efforts.

Russia and China have called on involved countries to practice restraint to avoid tension escalation. On the sideline of the Russia-China Northeast Asia Security Meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, both countries said they have closely followed the situation on the Korean peninsula.