The top diplomats of South Korea and Russia have agreed to step up their diplomatic cooperation toward peacefully resolving North Korea's nuclear issue, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (Yonhap)
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, met in Geneva earlier in the day (local time) on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, according to the ministry.
"The two agreed to make diplomatic efforts to maintain the momentum created by the PyeongChang Winter Olympics for inter-Korean dialogue and turn this to talks aimed at peacefully resolving North Korea's nuclear problem," the ministry said.
Kang, in particular, affirmed that South Korea will closely cooperate with major powers to resume talks on the North's nuclear issue, while at the same time pursuing inter-Korean dialogue, the ministry said.
The Russian foreign minister expressed Moscow's support for and willingness to cooperate with the Seoul government's push to improve inter-Korean relations and resume diverse contact, including U.S.-North Korea dialogue, according to the ministry.
A mood of peace has been growing on the Korean Peninsula since the North sent athletes to the Feb 9-25 Winter Olympics and invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang for what could be the third inter-Korean summit.
Moon has yet to formally accept the invitation but expressed hopes of creating the right conditions for the meeting to take place. He asked the North to make active efforts to open dialogue with the U.S. to discuss its denuclearization. (Yonhap)