MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) - Russia welcomes contacts between North Korea and the United States aimed at the resumption of six-nation talks on the nuclear problem of the Korean peninsula, the Russian Foreign Ministry has stated.
"On October 28, Moscow hosted meetings and consultations of First Deputy Foreign Ministers Andrei Denisov and Alexei Borodavkin with North Korean First Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan," a Friday posting on the ministry website says.
"The Russian side expressed support for the dialogue between North Korea and the United States as a necessary condition for the speedy resumption of the six-nation negotiating process on the nuclear problem of the Korean peninsula," the ministry says.
In his turn, Kim Kye-gwan spoke of the results of his talks with U.S. representatives.
The high-ranking diplomats also mulled certain aspects of bilateral cooperation in light of the implementation of understandings reached at the August 24, 2011 Russian-North Korean summit and exchanged opinions about the situation in Northeast Asia, including the nuclear agenda of the Korean peninsula.
"The sides confirmed their mutual interest in the continuation of active foreign policy engagement," the posting said.
Earlier this week Kim Kye-gwan met with U.S. presidential envoy for North Korea Steven Bosworth. After the meeting, the U.S. side announced that it had made progress at talks with the North Korean delegation but had not reached any understandings on the resumption of six-nation talks.