Top diplomats from South Korea and Germany discussed ways to expand cooperation in fighting the growing nuclear threat from North Korea, sharing the view that its latest test is a grave provocation that cannot be tolerated, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a bilateral meeting on Tuesday (local time) in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to the ministry.

Yun emphasized that the fifth nuclear test conducted by the North on Sept. 9 runs squarely against UN Security Council Resolution 2270 adopted in March and asked for cooperation from Germany in seeking tougher sanctions against Pyongyang along with other punitive measures, the ministry said.

In response, the German foreign minister shared the view that the North's latest nuclear test constituted a grave provocation that cannot be tolerated and promised to do its part to enforce strong and effective sanctions drawn up by the European Union.

They also agreed to keep strengthening cooperative ties, saying that both share the history of pain caused by the division of their countries and fast economic growth in past decades.

On the same day, Yun also held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart Boris Johnson and discussed cooperation in dealing with the North's nuclear issue.

Johnson was quoted as saying that Britain will play an active role as a permanent member of the UNSC in adopting a resolution in response to the latest nuclear provocation by the North.

On the economic front, both agreed to keep ramping up mutually beneficial cooperation in diverse areas going forward, even after London's decision to leave the EU, the ministry said. (Yonhap)