Russian foreign minister to visit DPRK

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here Tuesday that he has accepted an invitation to visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"Comrade minister invited me to pay a return visit to Pyongyang. We accepted this invitation," Lavrov said at a news briefing following talks with his DPRK counterpart Ri Yong-ho who is visiting Moscow.

Lavrov said so far no decisions have been made concerning a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the top DPRK leader, Kim Jong-un.

Commenting on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Lavrov hailed the efforts to ease tensions. He noted that the development in the region was proceeding in accordance with the road map on the settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue proposed by China and Russia.

Lavrov said he hoped that this process would result in resuming the six-party talks comprised of the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. The talks are aimed at denuclearizing the peninsula.