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Russia: N. Korea Not Prepared to Resume Nuclear Talks

By VOA News
24 April 2009

Russia said North Korea is not prepared to return to international talks on the country's nuclear disarmament.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comment to reporters in Seoul, where he arrived Friday following a two-day visit to North Korea.

The Russian diplomat also warned that no country should use North Korea's recent rocket launch to justify an arms race or building up missile defenses in the region.

Lavrov did not name any specific countries. But the United States has sold missile defense technology to South Korea and Japan. All three countries announced they had prepared anti-missile systems ahead of Pyongyang's April 5 launch.

North Korean claims that it launched a communications satellite into space on that date. Experts, including those in the Russian military, said they did not detect the satellite in orbit.

Lavrov added that Russia proposed during talks in Pyongyang that Russian territory could be used to launch future North Korean satellites.

Speaking earlier Friday before leaving Pyongyang, Lavrov said North Korean leaders said they have no further use for the Six-Party aid-for-disarmament talks. Lavrov told reporters that he did not expect a quick breakthrough in the dispute. He also reaffirmed Russia's opposition to new U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.

Lavrov is the first high-level official to visit North Korea since Pyongyang announced earlier this month that it was quitting the talks and would restart a program to make weapons-grade plutonium.

North Korea decided to pull out of future talks earlier this month after the United Nations Security Council criticized its rocket launch.

Russia and neighboring China resisted pressure for a binding U.N. resolution in response to the launch, but supported a statement condemning it.

The statement also called for additional sanctions against Pyongyang following the launch.

A U.N. Security Council committee is expected to release a report Friday on companies or technology that could be added to the North's current sanctions list.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.