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Lavrov starts visit to Pyongyang visiting Kim Il Sung Mausoleum
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13866585&PageNum=0
PYONGYANG, April 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov began his stay in Pyongyang with visiting the Kim Il Sung Mausoleum on Thursday. He made an entry in the mourning book.
After that the RF foreign minister laid a wreath at the Liberation Monument to the Soviet soldiers.
Talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun are beginning. It was earlier reported with reference to informed sources that the Russian diplomacy head might meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on April 23.
The main issue of Lavrov’s discussions in Pyongyang is expected to be the future of the six-sided talks on the Korean Peninsula’s nuclear problem. The sides, in particular, will discuss prospects for the settlement of the situation caused by the North Korean decision to withdraw from the six-sided nuclear talks after the UN Security Council condemned the recent launch by Pyongyang of a powerful rocket. Russia has repeatedly called on North Korea to return to the dialogue in the interests of strengthening stability in Northeast Asia.
After the UN Security Council’s presidential statement denouncing the launch of the North Korean rocket Pyongyang expelled from the country inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It stated the intention to resume the suspended operation of its only nuclear reactor at Yongbyon capable of producing weapons grade plutonium.
Touching upon the Korean nuclear problem recently in an interview to Itar-Tass, the Russian foreign minister stressed that “all the sides should fulfil the agreements reached.” “There are obligations that North Korea assumed, there are obligations assumed by the other participants in the six-nation talks,” he recalled. “Russia has totally fulfilled all its obligations, we want the other countries to fulfil their obligations as well,” Lavrov stated.
The Russian foreign minister last visited Pyongyang in 2004.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives in Pyongyang
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13866182
PYONGYANG, April 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived for a two-day visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) to discuss bilateral relations and the North Korean nuclear program.
The Russian foreign minister will hold talks with his North Korean opposite number Pak Ui-chung and the speaker of parliament Kim Yong Nam. On April 23, the Russian Foreign Minister may meet the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The future of the six-way talks on the nuclear problem of the Korean peninsula is expected to dominate the Russian-Korean talks. The sides will discuss the DPRK’s intention to withdraw from the six-way talks after the United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea for a powerful rocket launch.
Russia has repeatedly called on North Korea to get back to the negotiation table.
Russia hopes that the six-way process would soon re-start. At the same time, the Russian foreign minister spoke against tougher sanctions against Pyongyang.
“A threat of sanctions to North Korea is counterproductive,” Lavrov emphasized.
After being criticized for the rocket launch, North Korea expelled the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and said it would resume the creation of a nuclear reactor in Yongbyon that will produce weapons-grade plutonium.
Speaking about North Korea’s nuclear program, the Russian foreign minister said that all the parties should stick to their commitments.
“There are commitments taken by North Korea and there are commitments taken by the other participants in the six-way talks,” Lavrov went on to say. He added that Russia had fulfilled all of its commitments and would like other nations to follow suit.
During his visit Lavrov is expected to sign an inter-governmental plan for cultural cooperation between Russia and the DPRK. He will also be present at the opening of a Russian cultural centre on the basis of the Institute of Foreign Languages.
Lavrov’s last visit to Pyongyang was in 2004. He will leave the DPRK for Seoul on April 24.
Russian minister arrives in NKorea: state media
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090423/wl_asia_afp/nkorearussiadiplomacymissilenuclear_20090423044709
SEOUL (AFP) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived Thursday in North Korea, state media said, in the first high-level visit since the communist state announced it was quitting nuclear disarmament talks.
The official news agency announced the arrival but gave no details of his itinerary.
Moscow has said Lavrov will visit North Korea April 23-24 and South Korea April 24-25 to discuss bilateral relations with both countries, "the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia and other relevant international questions of mutual interest."
Russia is a member of the six-party nuclear talks which also group the two Koreas, China, Japan and the United States.
Regional tensions are high after the North's purported satellite launch on April 5, widely seen overseas as a disguised missile test.
The North, angry at UN censure of the launch, has announced it is quitting the six-party talks and restarting its atomic weapons programme. It has expelled US and UN nuclear inspectors.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting a diplomatic source, has said Lavrov would discuss the aftermath of the rocket launch and was expected to urge the North to return to the six-way talks.
He hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il but it is unclear whether that will be possible, the source added.
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