Russia, DPRK agree to approach settlement on Korean Peninsula step by step: Russian FM

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Ri Yong-ho on Thursday agreed to take steps to gradually denuclearize the Korean Peninsula for the sake of regional peace and stability, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The foreign ministers held in-depth discussions about the situation of the Korean Peninsula and praised the positive developments in recent months, including the summits held between Pyongyang and Seoul and the planned summit between the leaderships of the DPRK and the United States, said a ministry statement.

"We consider it very important to approach these contacts extremely sensitively, not to try to make abrupt movements, and to artificially adjust the process, which requires considerable time and detailed coordination of all components of the package," Lavrov was quoted as saying by the ministry at a press conference following his talks with Ri.

Therefore, Moscow and Pyongyang called on all parties involved to fully take up their responsibilities so as to safeguard the "very important but still fragile process," the statement said.

In particular, Russia is ready to contribute to the efforts, including via initiatives of trilateral cooperation. The ministers have already discussed the possibility of a long-standing idea of tripartite projects involving the DPRK, the Republic of Korea and Russia in the areas of uniting railways, building a gas pipeline and electric power grids, according to the statement.

Lavrov underlined the common understanding of Russia and the DPRK about the need to avoid the temptation to "demand everything at once."

"We see how multi-component this problem is and how much denuclearization is inextricably linked with the eventual establishment of peace, stability and a system of interaction, cooperation and equal and indivisible security in Northeast Asia," said Lavrov.

The foreign ministers also talked about further cooperation between Russia and the DPRK in terms of bilateral relations and in the international arena, according to the ministry.

Citing the agreements reached by the two sides in March and April this year, Lavrov and Ri agreed that there are concrete opportunities to expand trade and economic ties within the framework of the decisions adopted by the United Nations Security Council.

Fruitful cooperation and plans of further joint work in other fields such as culture, education, science and sports were also discussed, the ministry said.