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Russian presidential envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov left for Pyongyang on Thursday evening to seek a solution to the crisis over the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Losyukov will make a stopover in Beijing, China, on his way to the DPRK capital. "I hope to reach certain results," Losyukov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying before his departure.
Losyukov, who is in charge of relations with Asian countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said he will have meetings with the DPRK's high-ranking officials "for ways of overcoming the crisis."
Losyukov said he does not rule out a possible trip to Washington after talks in Pyongyang.
"I have no such plans. But my trip to the US will depend on the results of the talks in Pyongyang," he noted.
Russia has outlined for the DPRK nuclear crisis "a package settlement plan," which calls for guaranteeing the non-nuclear status of the Korean Peninsula, strict adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a 1994 agreement under which DPRK froze its nuclear program in return for fuel supplies by the United States.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that Russia does not intend to act as a mediator in the DPRK settlement, but is ready to continue active diplomatic efforts to promote bilateral and multilateral dialogue, including that between the DPRK and the United States.
(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2003)
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