All news

US to welcome Russian-North Korean contacts if it helps to persuade Pyongyang — DoS

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy, Oleg Burmistrov, will hold consultations with the head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s US relations department Cho Song-hu in Moscow on Friday

WASHINGTON, September 29. /TASS/. The United States would welcome diplomatic contacts between Russia and North Korea if they persuade Pyongyang to change its policies, US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the ministry’s special envoy, Oleg Burmistrov, will hold consultations with the head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s US relations department Cho Song-hu in Moscow on Friday. "There will be an exchange of opinion regarding the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia," Zakharova said.

Commenting on the announcement, Nauert said: "I can’t see that as a bad thing. Diplomacy is our preferred approach. If Russia can be successful in getting North Korea to move in a better direction, we would certainly welcome that."

She said that United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joe Yun visited Moscow about two weeks ago.