Lavrov meets North Korea's leader Kim, invites him to visit Russia
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is on an official trip to Pyongyang, has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit Moscow, as Russia becomes more involved in international efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In his first visit to North Korea since 2009, Lavrov was seen in a televised meeting seated across a table from Kim in Pyongyang on Thursday.
The top Russian diplomat invited Kim to visit Moscow as US President Trump canceled the 12 June summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore.
“Come to Russia. We would be very happy to see you,” Lavrov said.
He also expressed Russia’s support for North Korea’s efforts to engage with South Korea in a denuclearization plan.
Kim held a historic meeting with the South Korean president last month, during which the two sides issued a joint declaration promising to work towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Lavrov expressed hope that the two Koreas would take a carefully planned approach to possible forthcoming talks on a nuclear settlement with a measured approach.
“This will allow for the realization not only of the denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsula but also to provide sustainable peace and stability across northeast Asia,” Lavrov said, based on excerpts of his comments provided by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Russian news agencies said Lavrov had also held talks with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho.
Lavrov’s trip to Pyongyang comes amid intensified efforts to revive a meeting between Kim and Trump. A senior North Korean delegation has traveled to the US to discuss the prospect of a summit between the two leaders.
Along with China, Russia has provided North Korea with its basic economic and military needs during years of intensive US-led sanctions on Pyongyang. The two countries have indicated that they would not completely stand aside regarding the current flurry of diplomacy over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
Before attending the joint summit with the South Korean president, Kim traveled to China apparently to coordinate his views with those of Beijing while senior North Korean diplomats have also visited Moscow as part of wider efforts to reach a potential nuclear settlement.
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