The Korean crisis will be high on the agenda when foreign ministers from the G8 group of nations hold talks in London on Thursday.

Correspondents say Japan, present at the talks, is looking for a strong statement of solidarity over the issue.

North Korea has been making bellicose threats against South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region.

Ministers will also debate the Syrian crisis, Iran's nuclear programme and sexual violence in conflicts.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says ministers agree that the combination of warlike threats from Pyongyang and preparations for new missile tests amount to dangerous provocation.

"There is no disagreement with the United States over North Korea," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in London on Wednesday.

South Korea has raised its alert level amid indications that the North is preparing for a missile test.

Pyongyang has increased its fiery rhetoric following fresh UN sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test and joint military manoeuvres by the US and South Korea.

Syria division

Meanwhile, G8 ministers met Syrian opposition figures on Wednesday on the sidelines of the two-day meeting.

Our correspondent says that, unlike North Korea, Syria divides the G8 and no-one expects Damascus's ally Russia to join others backing punitive action against President Bashar al-Assad.

Fresh evidence of links between some opposition fighters and al-Qaeda make it even harder for governments to decide a course of action, he adds.

In a meeting with ministers on Wednesday, leaders of the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) reportedly pressed for more humanitarian assistance.

Mr Kerry, however, stressed the importance of the opposition becoming better organised, a senior US official told reporters.

In a statement issued after the talks, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain was committed to finding a political solution to the crisis.

"We discussed what further assistance the UK could provide to save lives in Syria, and how we could work together to ensure this support was channelled most effectively," he said.

The London talks are also the first chance for G8 ministers to discuss face-to-face the failure of last week's meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on curbing Iran's nuclear programme.

Tehran says it only wants to produce energy but the US and its allies suspect it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

Mr Hague, meanwhile, has said his "personal priority" for the G8 meeting is a new agreement to prevent sexual violence in conflicts.

Burma, Somalia and cyber-security are also topics on the agenda.

The Group of Eight nations comprises the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia.

Britain currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the G8 and the talks are a prelude to the annual G8 summit later this year in Northern Ireland.