S. Korea seeks Russia's role in ending N. Korea's nuclear program

By Lee Haye-ah

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea asked Russia on Wednesday to step up efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, citing Moscow's "constructive" role in a recent nuclear deal with Iran, according to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the request to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during bilateral talks on the sidelines of a series of conferences led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations under way in the Malaysian capitol this week.

"Our minister assessed Russia's constructive role in the Iranian nuclear issue and asked for Russia's contributions to keep that momentum and resolve the North Korea nuclear issue," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

South Korea and Russia are members of the long-stalled six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia is also a member of the U.S.-led P5+1, which last month struck a deal with Iran to curb its uranium enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief.

During their talks, Yun and Lavrov also discussed their countries' bilateral ties, which this year mark their 25th anniversary.

In particular, they welcomed the success of an inter-continental rail project that ended last week. The Seoul-led Eurasia Express traveled 14,400 kilometers from Beijing and Vladivostok before arriving at its final destination, Berlin, last week.

Bilateral trade between South Korea and Russia reached a record US$26 billion last year.

hague@yna.co.kr
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