MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia urges North Korea to immediately return to the six-nation talks on its nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Borodavkin, who represents Russia at the six-nation talks, met on Wednesday with North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Yong-jae to discuss bilateral ties as well as the nuclear dispute.
"The Russian side stressed the need to immediately resume the six-party talks involving North Korea, South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the United States to search for ways out of the current situation, which could deteriorate further, and to continue joint work on the resolution of the nuclear problem on the Korean peninsula," the ministry said in a statement after the meeting.
The six-nation talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to drop its nuclear program stalled after the North quit the process in April, accusing the U.S. of failure to meet its obligations under an aid-for-disarmament deal.
North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches are widely believed to be aimed at bolstering the authority of leader Kim Jong-il, 67, who reportedly suffered a stroke last August, as he prepares to hand over power to his son.
North Korea is banned from conducting nuclear tests or launching ballistic missiles under UN Resolution 1718, which was adopted following the country's first nuclear test on October 9, 2006. Pyongyang is also subject to a series of UN sanctions aimed at forcing it to terminate its controversial nuclear program.
