MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and China agree that the development of North Korea’s nuclear program should not be used as an excuse for deploying elements of a U.S. global anti-missile system on the Korean peninsula, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

Moscow and Beijing also favor measures that would counter North Korea’s nuclear program, but at the same time not hamper a political settlement in the region, Lavrov told a joint news briefing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.