The six-party talks are scheduled to resume December 18. The negotiations, involving North and South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the U.S., were launched in 2003 to persuade North Korea to give up its controversial nuclear program after Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Russian delegation, which arrived in Beijing December 17, is led by Russia's Ambassador to China Sergei Razov, the source said.
The six-nation talks stalled in November 2005 over Pyongyang's demand that the U.S. lift sanctions imposed on it for its alleged involvement in counterfeiting and other illegal activities.
Following North Korea's October 9 announcement that it had conducted its first nuclear bomb test, the UN Security Council passed a special resolution October 14 blocking all deliveries of military equipment and supplies to the country.
