In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day, the DPRK said it "will in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The statement did not give specific date or location of the upcoming test.

"We, as well as other participants to the six-nation talks, are working consistently with Pyongyang toward showing restraint and preventing abrupt moves," Lavrov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Lavrov called for the resumption of the six-party talks on the DPRK nuclear issue, which were stalled since the first phase of the fifth round of talks last November.

"We are counting on our efforts allowing a swift resumption of the six-nation talks," he said.

The six-party talks involve China, the DPRK, the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan.

"We proceed from the principle that these problems (regarding Iran and the DPRK) should be solved exclusively by peaceful, diplomatic means," Lavrov said, adding the main objective is "to prevent non-proliferation violations."

The West has been urging Iran to accept a package of incentives in return for halting its uranium enrichment activities.

Iran, however, insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful energy needs. It failed to meet a UN Security Council's deadline for suspending its enrichment work by Aug. 31.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a seminar last Wednesday that Iran would "not back down" on its nuclear rights.