MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Settlement of the North Korean nuclear program controversy has been discussed in Moscow by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and South Korean Ambassador to Russia Park Ro-byug, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
"The sides continued exchanging views on ways to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear problem. They also touched upon some issues of bilateral relations, including the schedule of political contacts," the ministry said in a statement.
North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, having earlier withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that it ratified in 1985.
Tensions around North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs escalated after on January 6, Pyongyang said it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test which triggered a wave of condemnation from the international community.
