Russia to join talks

The Hindu ^ | August 1, 2003 | Vladimir Radyuhin

[Jemian]

North Korea has called for Russia's participation in talks on Pyongyang's nuclear problem, generating hopes of overcoming the stalemate.

The North Korean Ambassador, Pak Ui Chun, met with the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister, Yuri Fedotov, on Thursday to convey Pyongyang's support for "six-sided talks with the participation of Russia on resolving the current complex situation on the Korean peninsula," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement also quoted the envoy as saying that Pyongyang "was making active efforts toward their (the talks) realisation."

In Washington, a White House spokesman also said the U.S. wanted South Korea, Japan and Russia to join the talks Washington has been holding with Pyongyang and Beijing.

This represents a breakthrough for Russia, which has so far been sidelined by the U.S. because of Moscow's criticism of Washington's pressure tactics to make North Korea renounce its nuclear weapons programme. Russia has called for providing North and South Korea with multilateral security guarantees to ensure the nuclear-free status of the peninsula.

Moscow promptly accepted the invitation to join the talks. Mr. Fedotov expressed the hope that the talks with Russia's participation can resume in the very near future.