Moscow Not Considering Six-Party Talks on N Korean Nuclear Issue 'Dead'

Russia is not considering the six-party talks on Korean nuclear issue to be "dead," stressing the necessity to continue work on resuming the negotiations, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Timonin told Sputnik in an interview.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On June 22, a high-level North Korean diplomat on nuclear issues said at a security conference in the Chinese capital that the six-party talks on the dismantling of Pyongyang’s nuclear program were "dead."

"I am categorically against considering that the six-party talks ran its course. It is a well-proven and well-tried channel of finding paths to solve the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula," Timonin said.

Moscow believes that the format should be continued, despite the lack of full-scale discussions between the six countries, he noted.

Despite the statements made by North Korean diplomats, Pyongyang remains interested in settling nuclear issue, Timonin added.

"North Korea remains interested in settlement of the nuclear problem at the Korean peninsula. The most crucial is to find an optimal formula to respect the interests of all the sides to the six-party talks," he added.

The six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula initially included South and North Korea, Russia, the United States, China and Japan. The talks were held between 2003 and 2009, before Pyongyang's withdrawal.