Russia optimistic of ending Korean and US nuclear standoff

A Russian envoy held six hours of talks yesterday with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and said he was optimistic the nuclear standoff between Pyongyang and Washington could be solved peacefully.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov emerged from the talks at a heavily-guarded residence on the northern outskirts of Pyongyang to describe them as successful, but gave no details, said Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency.

“The meeting was very substantive. The atmosphere was very warm,” Losyukov said as he left to return to the Russian embassy.

“Moscow is optimistic that a solution to the crisis around North Korea can be found through peaceful means,” he was quoted as saying.

Moscow was counting on further contacts to hammer out the details of a possible solution to the crisis, the Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

It was the first sign of a possible breakthrough in an impasse that began in October when Washington said the North had admitted to a secret nuclear weapons program.

Pyongyang later kicked out UN nuclear inspectors, removed the seals from a mothballed reactor and pulled out of a global treaty preventing the spread of atomic arms.

A suggestion by a senior US official that the crisis should be brought before the UN Security Council places added pressure on Pyongyang to fall into line. Losyukov presented Pyongyang with a set of three proposals that call for the Korean peninsula to be nuclear-free in exchange for guarantees of the North’s security and for the resumption of aid to the impoverished communist state.

“We put forward our ideas on what a compromise solution to the current crisis could look like.

The Korean side constructively and attentively considered these proposals,” said Losyukov was quoted as saying.

“This work cannot stop at one round of talks and demands a significant amount of time, the comparison of positions and contacts with other sides in the conflict, including the US.”

He was believed to have given Kim, leader of the world’s only communist dynasty, a message from President Vladimir Putin, Itar-Tass said.

Russia is one of the few countries to maintain close ties with Pyongyang. Kim has visited Russia twice in recent years and Putin has made one trip to Pyongyang.