SEOUL, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy says Russia is upbeat about North Korea's talks with the South and the United States on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Lim Sung-nam's comments Saturday came after he returned from a three-day visit to Russia.
"Russia is viewing the two rounds of South-North and North-U.S. talks positively," he told Yonhap News Agency.
Lim visited Russia to help coordinate six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. He was named Seoul's chief negotiator at disarmament talks last month.
He said he would "further increase joint efforts with Russia to solve North Korean issues on the basis of strategic partnerships."
Lim, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, met with his Russian counterpart, Alexei Borodavkin, and other senior officials.
The United States and North Korea ended talks this week in Geneva, Switzerland, on resumption of negotiations on the North's nuclear disarmament but no breakthrough was reported.
The six-party talks among the two Koreas, the United States, Russia, China and Japan on the North's denuclearization have stalled since 2009 when the North walked out. Since then China has been pressing the North to return to the bargaining table.
