Russia lauds DPRK moratorium on nuclear program

MOSCOW - Moscow lauded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s decision to suspend its nuclear activities, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia welcomed the progress made during the latest round of high-level talks between the United States and the DPRK held in Beijing last week.

"We praise the fact that the DPRK will take certain steps towards denuclearization while the United States seeks to normalize relations between the two countries, including measures to provide humanitarian aid," the ministry said.

It added that the progress was a positive signal that the six-party talks may be resumed soon.

"Parallel efforts being made by the participants in the six-party talks on solving the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula are gradually return to a renewal of negotiations," the ministry said.

The DPRK said Wednesday that it will suspend nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment activities as part of an agreement made with the United States.

The DPRK also agreed to allow UN inspectors' return to the country to "verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at Nyongbyon and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated facilities."

In return, the United States has agreed to provide the DPRK with 240,000 tons of nutritional assistance.