North Korea ready to resume six-party talks on n-issue: Russia

North Korea is ready to resume six-party talks on the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula without preconditions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"We have received assurances... that Pyongyang is ready to resume six-party talks without preconditions, based on the joint statement that the participants in the six-party format of the negotiations adopted in September 2005," Lavrov told reporters after talks with Choe Ryong Hae, special envoy of North Korea's top leader Kim Jong Un.

He said Choe, who arrived in Moscow Monday for an eight-day visit, had handed Russian President Vladimir Putin a message from Kim that "confirmed the readiness to develop our bilateral ties and cooperate in resolving the problems which persist on the Korean Peninsula", according to Xinhua.

Noting that Russia-North Korea trade and economic relations "are reaching a whole new level", Lavrov said the two countries would further interact in the future.

"As for the schedule of contacts, we have confirmed our readiness to carry out contacts at all levels, including the summit level, within the time-frame agreed to by both sides," he said.

Lavrov also stressed that recent media reports on North Korea's nuclear reactor activity in the Yongbyon nuclear complex should be verified.

"Such claims should be backed by facts, not by media allegations," he said, adding that the working group on the peninsula's security issues should resume its activities so that all concerns could be professionally discussed.

Choe's visit followed a series of high-ranking visits by North Korean officials this year. Vice Marshal Hyon Yong Chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces, met Putin in Moscow Nov 8 and conveyed Kim's greetings. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong visited Russia Sep 30.

Choe will also visit Russia's far east cities of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok on his way back home.